Lavender is even useful in the kitchen in baking and drink recipes! Learn more below.
Lovely lavender adds aroma and soft beauty to the garden—and also has culinary and medicinal uses. Best seeded indoors (in late winter), lavender is planted outdoors in early spring. Learn how to plant, keep lavender plants in shape, propagate, and harvest/dry the flowers.
The commonly-cultivated lavender is the common or English lavender Lavandula angustifolia (formerly named L. officinalis) which is hardy to USDA Zone 5. A bushy perennial, lavender grows from 1 to 3 feet tall, bearing small blue-violet flowers on spikes with blue-green needle-like foliage. Its the oils in the flowers that give the herb its distinctive balsam-like fragrance.
Called “English” lavender because it proliferates in the English climate, this plant’s main requirements are lots of sun and good drainage. It is not fussy about soil, and its presence lures bees and butterflies and pollinators to the garden. Plant lavender along a walkway or near a seating area.
Interestingly, the name lavender comes from the Latin root lavare, which means “to wash” because it was used in baths to purify the body and spirit. Today, it’s often used in soaps and shampoos.
In addition, lavender has proven medicinal uses. When the essential oils are inhaled, lavender has calming properties that reduce anxiety; it’s also used as a gentle sedative for insomnia. In ancient times, lavender flowers were sewn into sachets to aide with sleeplessness.
Lavender is even useful in the kitchen in baking and drink recipes! Learn more below.
As mentioned above, lavender thrives in most soil qualities, from poor to moderately fertile. Lavender makes only one demand of soil: It must drain well. Standing water and wet areas could encourage root rot. Amend compacted or clay soil with compost or aged manure to improve drainage. Plant lavender in a spot that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day (“full sun”).
Check out this video to learn how to plant lavender:
In cooler climates: Prune established plants in spring when green leaves start to emerge from the base. Remove about one-third of the top to keep the plant from becoming leggy and bare at the base, but do not cut back into old wood, as it will not regrow.
In warm climates: All pruning can be carried out in autumn.
The flowering stems can be harvested while in bloom or snipped off after the flowers fade to keep the plant tidy.
Lavender is a wonderful herb for drying. Here’s how to harvest it:
Use your dried lavender to make lavender sachets—a lovely gift. Lavender sachets can help to keep your sheets or towels smelling sweet, to repel moths and insects, and even promote a restful night’s sleep.
Store lavender flowers in a lidded jar somewhere cool and dark, or pop them straight into a sachet to keep towels, sheets or clothes smelling sweet and to repel moths. If you suffer from insomnia, try inserting the sachets into a pillow so the calming scent can help you drift off to a restful slumber.
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Very interesting. I like this plant a lot.
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