The Wonders Of Lavender

Famous for its fragrance as well as it's medicinal properties and stunning bluish-purple colour, Lavandula is a prized plant across the world. This amazing herb thrives in even the toughest of conditions and it also attracts pollinators to the garden.

Let's take deeper look in to this wondrous plant.

PLANTING

Lavender thrives in almost all soil qualities, from poor to fertile. If you have compacted or clay soil improve drainage by adding some organic matter.

Lavender isn’t very easy to grow from seed. Seeds may take up to three months to germinate and seedlings will need to be overwintered indoors in cool climates. It's far better to start with established pot grown plants.

HOW TO CARE FOR LAVENDER

Begin by watering mature plants every two to three weeks until buds form, then once or twice weekly until harvest.

A great tip is to grow lavender in a pot, keeping it outdoors in the summer and indoors in winter. While indoors, place the pot in a south-facing window with as much light as possible. Water sparingly, as the plant will be dormant at this time

PRUNING LAVENDER

After flowering simply shear the flowers and foliage off to encourage the plant to keep in shape. Do not hard prune into brown woody stems as the plant does not regrow.

HARVESTING LAVENDER

Lavender is a wonderful herb for drying. This is where the joys of lavender really kick in.

• Harvest when approximately half of the flower buds have opened.
• Harvest in the morning. The oils are the most concentrated.
• Snip off the stems just before the flowers open.
• Keep stems as long as possible. Gather into bundles and secure them with rubber bands.
• Dry the bundles by hanging them in a sheltered, ideally a cool, dark place where there is good air circulation.
• Wait a few weeks the flowers will have dried fully, and can be shaken gently from the stems into a jar.
• Use your lavender to make lavender sachets to keep your sheets or towels smelling sweet, to repel moths and insects, and even under your pillow for a restful night.

This is a plant everybody should enjoy and I hope this blog has inspired you to introduce lavender to your garden and home this year.

Happy gardening,

Lou

Louise EvansI caught the gardening bug as a child, helping my grandparents on their allotments every weekend and school holiday. Later I studied for my RHS qualifications at evening class while working days at our local garden centre, and in 2014 Ken and I set up Plants2Gardens. Now I garden around my 2 girls, who love sowing seeds and potting up, and a lot of animals: chickens, dogs, rabbits and a guinea pig. None of them are green-fingered, but they keep me laughing.Published 4 May 2022