Love That Lavender!

More wonderful concoctions are possible. Over the centuries we have ascribed to lavender many amazing powers and special uses. You will find love powder and happiness powder, a celibacy bath and even a control for parasites all gleaned from none other than Old Wives' Tales.

Be careful, too, if you are planning to try it for other purposes. The virtual Noah Webster's Colonial Herb Garden Tour is short on illustrations but it does include fascinating descriptions of uses of herbs in colonial times including many olden medicinal uses of garden-grown lavender -- but this time it is Lavandula officinalis.

If you are planning to grow some lavender, look for advice from real gardening people who grow and use lavender. Local gardeners would be a good place to start, and the FAQ from Henriette's Herbal has that flat echo of experience in growing and harvesting and processing and cooking with lavender including a new-to-me (and I'll bet to you, too) recipe for the lavender martini.

A word about growing lavender. It's not terribly difficult (it grows wild in the Alps, remember) but it is also not terribly easy in all cases. Some are very picky about needing that alkaline fast draining soil and require a mulch or reliable snow cover to avoid frost heaving in the winter. Others are not winter hardy at all in areas colder than zone 8 while still others, perhaps those more closely related to the mints in the family, prefer more of a moist rich acid soil.

In my area of zone 6, the Munstead and Hidcote varieties are fairly reliable but look very ratty by late winter. However, the blooms are worth it in many gardeners' estimation (a hedge is spectacular if a field is more than you have room for). If small space is a concern, they even do well in containers and in "nontraditional" settings such as this Canadian hotel roof top herb garden!

Which kind would you grow? Check out these fabo photos from California! Confused now? Take a look at this lavender taxonomy complete with variety names for help. Since it is herb of the year many lavenders should be relatively easy to find at garden centers and the different varieties can be fun to collect.

So what are you waiting for? ENJOY!