FoodFood InformationHerbs&Spice
LAVENDER (Lavandula species)
One of the most traditional herb garden plants is lavender, and the mostwidely planted and used species is English lavender (L. spica). The woody,upright stems grow 3-4 feet high, and each plant spreads to about 3 feetacross. Leaves are gray and narrow, about 2 inches long with smooth margins.Lavender colored flowers grow on 24 inch long spikes at the ends of thestems in July and August. There are several dwarf varieties of L. spice.'Compacta' is 8 inches tall, 12-15 inches wide, with deep purple flowers.'Munstead' is a popular dwarf, 18 inches tall with deep lavender blue flowers.'Hidcote' grows slowly to about 1 foot and has purple flowers. 'TwinklePurple,' 2-3 feet high, has fan like clusters of purple flowers on extralong stalks.
French lavender (L. dentata) reaches about 3 feet high and has bright green,1 1/2 inch leaves with square toothed edges. Lavender purple flowers growin short, blunt clusters, each topped with a tuft of petal like bracts.In mild winter climates it blooms almost continually. There is also a grayleafed variety: L. d. candicans.
Spanish lavender (L. stoechas) is a 1 1/2-3 foot tall, stocky plant withshort and narrow gray leaves. The flowers are dark purple and about 1/8inch long growing in dense, short flower spikes topped with a tuft of largepurple petal like bracts. They bloom in the early summer.
Spike lavender (L. Iatifolia) looks much like English lavender but has broaderleaves and flower stalks that often are branched.
Lavender has always been highly prized for the fragrance of its blossoms.They have been used to perfume soaps, pillows, bath and toilet waters, andeven the stuffing of chairs. Medicinally, lavender was used to revive aperson from a faint or swoon.
All the lavenders need sun and loose, fast draining soil. Prune immediatelyafter blooming to keep plants compact and neat. Grow from small plants boughtat the nursery, seeds sown in flats, or from stem cuttings with a heel onthe end.
Use the flowers for their fragrance in potpourris, sachets, perfumed baths,and flower arrangements. Harvest when they are in full bloom. The plantsare often grown as an edging or hedge in the garden. Or as a pungent flavoringin vinegar, marinates, teas, jams and preserves.