Suburban Gardener—

The Backyard Herbalist Discovers Lavender

By Gerry McCabe

Lovely lavender. Just its name creates visions of comfort and peacefulness, serenity and love. Historically, lavender (Lavendula spp.) has quite a story.

Believed to have originated in southern Europe along the Mediterranean coast, the Greeks and Roman’s bathed in lavender water and it is from the Latin word “lavare,” to wash, that lavender got its name.

Incredibly expensive, only royalty was able to afford the luxury of the scent. Queen Victoria would fill the castle with lavender. Emperors of France perfumed their silks and satins with its softness, and Napoleon was said to use over 60 bottles of lavender water a month! (This may show proof of a recent 1998 poll that the most favored scent of men for women was lavender, producing an aphrodisiac effect.)

Medicinally, lavender was used over 200 years ago in a tincture for Palsy to reduce muscle spasm and as an ointment to destroy bacterial infections and relieve itching of insect bites.

Lavender’s aroma also acted as a stimulant. Known to be used as an aid to dizziness, many a young maiden would carry lavender salts “just in case” of a “spell.”

English Lavender, Lavendula augustifolia, is the most popular species in our zone with cultivars ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munstead’ (dwarf and slightly hardier) being the easiest to buy. These plants can grow to three feet high with square stems and spikes of purple flowers, with Hidcote being darker in color.

If you would like a contrast, try L.a.’Alba’ with soft white flowers. Spanish Lavender, or Lavendula stoechas, is hardy to Zone 7 and will not winter over in our climate but it’s fascinating flowers are well worth a “container grown” effort. The flower spikes are thicker and stubbier than the English and are adorned with two alternate wisps of magenta petals at the very tip giving the appearance of a purple bumble bee in flight. Bring this lavender in for the winter and enjoy the scent all year round.

Once established, this perennial is quite easy to grow. Select a site that offers full sun and well drained, sandy, dry soil. Avoid clay.

Lavender can be slow to start the first year but do not lose hope. Remove all flowers during its spindly first season to encourage the bushy, full foliage so typical of the herb. If planting a border or bank, plants should be spaced 12 to 14 inches apart to allow for the luxuriant growth anticipated. Select sites along pathways or near entrances so guests will brush up against the plant and release the soothing aroma. It is quite a mood elevator. Blooms from June through August.

Begin to harvest when buds begin to open. Personally, I feel the leaves carry the stronger scent and can be harvested any time. Dry flowers on a screen or spread within an open cardboard box and place in an area that will get good air circulation.

Try hanging loosely tied sprigs upside down from garage rafters or any place inside where it is dry. This would eliminate kitchens and baths. Lavender will not dry with its full scented potential if placed on a heated dehydrator or in the microwave. But oh how delightful the essence through our homes during the process!

Use the dried flowers in glass potpourri dishes or stuff colorful fabric sachets and tiny “swooning pillows” for gifts. A favorite use of mine is to crumble dried or fresh lavender and sprinkle it on my carpet before I vacuum — fills the entire house with summer!

Try making soaps or weave fresh stalks together, let dry and hang in closets. And don’t forget our furry companions. A rub down with crumpled lavender leaves in hand will help deter fleas and ticks, not to mention what it will do to their overall aroma.

Truthfully, I know of no one who does not enjoy the fragrance of lavender so use it freely and generously. We all need to feel pretty (and handsome) sometimes.

(When she isn’t tending to her garden at home, Gerry McCabe spends some of her time continuing her gardening education at Naugatuck Valley College in Waterbury. Gerry, a certified master gardener in Connecticut, can be reached at TNGCATS@aol.com.)