Thanks to everyone for your reads and rates of my reviews!
Thanks to everyone for your reads and rates of my reviews!
Member since:16.11.2006
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In my mind, there are two types of lavender: that grown in the garden, and that used in toiletries. People seem not to link these two together, and opt for just growing lavender for its look and scent in the garden, and do not realise how easily it can be used inside the house, and indeed, for how many purposes.
As this review is in the 'garden' section of Ciao, I feel I must start off with this side of things first. Indeed, there is no chicken-or-egg question when it comes to lavender - I suppose one must start off by growing it before using it!
Lavender in general ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lavender is also known by its Latin name, Lavendula, especially if shopping in garden centres. There are many different species of the plant (approx. 25), but the most common is lavendula officinalis, also known as lavendula angustifolia or common lavender. The plant originates from the Mediterranean, parts of Africa, and India. For anyone who has no knowledge of the plant at all, it is a flowering shrub, with beautiful smelling purple flowers, and leaves of a silvery-green colour. It normally grows to a height of 60-70cm, but different species can vary.
Lavender in the garden ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I grew my first lavender plant when my dad agreed to let me have a corner of the garden when I was about 17. Not really knowing what I was doing from a gardening perspective, I decided on lavender just because I knew what it was and thought it smelled nice! I bought a fairly large plant (about 30cm across) and at the time it cost me about £8 (that was 5 or 6 years ago) from my local garden centre. It was always one of my favourites, because it was easy to plant, and didn't take much looking after from then on - perfect for a 17 year old who is only gardening as a whim!
If you wish to grow lavender in your garden, I would recommend buying an existing plant, although it is possible to grow them from seed. A small plant can cost about £2 or £3 from most garden centres, and they increase in size and price from then on. If you have a certain space that you wish it to fill, it is best to buy a plant that is smaller than your space, as lavender is one of the many plants that will 'sit down' within a few weeks of planting, and it will generally fill a larger area than first expected! Also, although lavender does not grow that high (about 60cm for l. officinalis) it can expand quite significantly width-wise over the years.
It likes to be in a sunny position, with well drained soil, according to the garden centre tickets, but over the years I have been quite unlucky with having shady garden space, and my partially shaded lavender plants have done just as well. The only thing here is, the less sunshine, the less flowers,
but one advantage of lavender is that you get a great smell from the leaves, not just the flowers.
Once watered in, lavender takes pretty well to an average garden soil, and does not really need any extra care - apart from being watered in those beautifully sunny times in midsummer, that we all love, but the garden hates!
The plants flower from early June; my husband swears by having the lavender in flower for his birthday a week into June! Bees love this flower, and whereas I love seeing these in the garden, you might want to avoid having your plant where people (especially children) are going to be walking and running past regularly.
The plant does not really need pruning, although I tend to take all of the flower heads off by the end of summer, just because I like the flowers! After several years, the plant can tend to get a bit large and woody, so occasionally some cutting down might be good to do. Cut from the base of the plant to avoid the woody stems growing any further. Remember, anything you cut from your lavender plant can have a use in the house, so keep hold of anything you take from it, and read on to find out what you can do with it ……
Lavender around the home ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The best thing about having lavender in my garden, is that I can use it for so many things! I can't wait until the summer now, as my last years' harvest has run out and I need more! I encourage anyone that grows the plant to take some consideration into how they can use this about the home.
Firstly, flowers can be harvested on the stalk, and gathered into bunches. Apart from the simple things, such as a simple posy there many other uses for the flowers, leaves, and wood.
Scented sachets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I would say that scented bags are the most popular and well-known of home uses for lavender. The flower heads can be taken from the plant, dried in an airing cupboard (or somewhere warm and dry), and then the flowers removed. Drying may only take a few days, and make sure you have laid them in something suitable to catch the flowers. The flowers should come off pretty easily once dried, and can be gathered into smallish cotton bags or paper sachets and added to drawers to fragrance clothing, as room-scenters, or hung/placed anywhere that you think needs freshening up! A nice idea is to make a cotton bag, about 5cm x 5cm, edge it with lace to make it look pretty, attach a ribbon loop to one corner, and you have a lavender freshener for a coat hanger! Perfect for clothes that might sit in the wardrobe for months on end (such as winter coats), and they also make great little gifts.
Bath bags ~~~~~~~ Lavender can make for a great relaxing and soothing baths, and there is no need to go buying any expensive bubble baths or creams to get its relaxing properties in this way. Not, too different from the above method, the dried flowers can be placed inside a muslin drawstring bag (or a tied muslin cloth or cotton hanky if this is easier). Just add the bag to the bathwater, especially while you add the hot water, try and get it to flow through the bag, as this releases more of the essential oils within the flowers, and hey presto! - one relaxing lavender bath at no extra cost to you! A bag can be used for a couple of days, but just remember to dispose of the flowers after this, dry the bag out and you can use it again another time. Incidentally, there are many garden flowers and other herbal remedies that can be easily used in this way.
Smudge sticks ~~~~~~~~~~ A smudge stick is Native American in origin, and can be made out of the dried flowers, leaves and stalks of many plant, especially fragrant herbs. The herbs are then set light to, and left to smoulder, to release the fragrance of the plant through its smoke as an incense. To make a smudge stick, take a bundle of fresh lavender stems - without flowers, and the leafier the better - and bundle them together. The stick should ideally be about 15cm/6in in length, and about 2/3cm/1in thick, but a smaller one will suffice, as long as it is quite tightly bundled together. Next, tie some natural cotton around the base of the bundle, making sure to wrap it around several times, to avoid it breaking when you burn it. Secure the rest of the bundle in the same way ay regular intervals of about 2/3cm, until you have tied the entire length of the bundle. I have included a picture of a completed one to avoid any confusion! Next take the bundle and leave it to dry somewhere warm, like an airing cupboard. It will take a couple of weeks for the stalks to dry out enough for burning. Once dry, your smudge stick can be used! Light the end of the smudge stick (yes, it does look like a giant spliff, but I assure you it is harmless, and in no way illegal!). It does not need to actually catch light and make a flame, you are just looking for it to smoulder, and this is when it releases the sweet smelling smoke. A word of warning to anyone who does not like smoky incenses, this is not for you! It may leave quite a smoky atmosphere to start off with, but leaves a beautiful smell afterwards. For anyone interested in the Native American arts, the smudge sticks are traditionally used for cleansing; both of places, and of a persons' aura, but that, as they say, is a different story!
Incense fragrance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For those who don't like the idea of smoky incense sticks, lavender flowers can be added, once dried, to a normal incense burner, the type with a tea light underneath and a bowl on top. Fill the bowl with water as you would normally, and add a handful of flowers to it. Once the water starts to warm, it gently releases the beautiful scent. Just be careful to top the water up - it can be quite messy if you let it dry out with the flowers in there!
Wood for burning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For anyone lucky enough to have a wood-burning fire, the woody parts of the lavender bush can be added to the fire, again, releasing the lovely scent. The wood can also be used in this way with the increasingly popular chimineers,
Pictures of Lavender
Lavender flowers
and brings a lovely subtle scent to the smoke on a summers' evening.Shake and vac! ~~~~~~~~~~~ Something I discovered quite by accident, but is an ingenious way of using lavender flowers! We tend to have bundles of lavender laying about the house through the year, and inevitably, I knocked a bunch onto the floor (and have done many times since!). As the lavender was dried, the flowers were scattered all over the place, so the only way to tidy up was to use the vacuum cleaner. Not being the perfect housewife I could have been, I did not do this straight away, but when I came to vacuum later that day, I realised that the whole room was smelling of lavender, and, upon closer inspection, the carpet was as well! So no longer do I spend time shaking carpet fresheners down, which make me cough anyway, I just carelessly knock a bunch of lavender off of the shelf, grab the vacuum, and hey - lovely smelling house and carpets!
Cooking ~~~~~~ Although I am not a fan of using flowers like this in cooking, lavender is actually edible, and can be used in home baking. The most popular uses for this are in biscuits and cakes. A simple recipe for either of these just need the addition of some lavender flowers - only a tablespoon or two - and there you have your very own lavender baking!
Teas, oils, ointments & creams ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For those more advance and adventurous in the kitchen, there are many other home remedies that can be made from lavender.
The simplest to make is a tea, just pour hot water over lavender flowers, let it stand to infuse for a few minutes, then remove the flowers. The tea can be sweetened with sugar or honey, and served as a steaming beverage, or chilled, as a refreshing summers day drink.
An oil can be made by taking a highly refined vegetable, ideally olive oil, adding lavender flowers (no need to dry beforehand) so they fill the bottle/jar or other clear container, but not too tightly packed together. Stand the container in a sunny windowsill. The flowers will need replacing after a week or two, and the longer you keep replacing the flowers and letting stand, the stronger scent your oil will have. The oil can then be used in the bath (about 5-10 drops for a full bath), in an incense burner (add 5-10 drops), as a massage oil (mix a few drops with a carrier oil, like sweet almond), or to make other household remedies.
An ointment is a great thing to make from lavender, as it has many healing properties to help rejuvenate skin (see below for health benefits). To make an ointment, take either a homemade lavender oil, or make your own from lavender essential oil - about 10 drops to every 100ml of good quality olive oil - and beeswax. Half a pint/300ml should be mixed with 1oz/25g natural beeswax in a Pyrex jug. Place the Pyrex jug into a bowl of water, and bring to the boil. Once it has boiled, simmer it while the beeswax melts into the oil. Once the beeswax has thoroughly melted, pour the mixture into a small glass jar and leave to set. Once set these ointments can be applied directly to the skin. They are ideal for very dry or delicate skin. Use on dry patches of skin, such as the elbows, knees, ankles or feet. They can be very useful for the elderly people prone to dry skin. Ointments should keep for several months (about 4 or 5), but remember to put your creation date on it!
If you find an ointment to greasy to use, a cream is a better solution. Still made with lavender oil and beeswax, but an infusion, like the herbal tea, above, is also used. Taking 2fl oz/50ml lavender oil, 1/2 oz/15g natural beeswax, and 2 fl oz/50ml of lavender tea, mix the oil and beeswax together following the method above. The tea should be hot when mixing it in, and must be mixed slowly into the mixture, whilst stirring. Once mixed together, pour into a small glass jar, and leave to set. Creams should keep for about 3 months, and can be used anywhere on the body, especially on sore areas. If using to treat a skin complaint, please make sure you test it on your hand first, to make sure you are not too sensitive to it, but lavender is one of the mildest plants for the skin, so there should be no worry.
Health benefits of lavender ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lavender has many health benefits and attributes, mainly those associated with relaxation. Lavender has the ability to promote a restful nights' sleep, by lowering blood pressure, which makes it ideal for using in an evening bath, or using as an incense near bedtime. For this reason thought, people should take care not to overuse lavender if they have problems with low blood pressure, particularly those who are pregnant. It can relax muscles when used in the bath, as a cream, or as an ointment, and therefore has been used to help relieve pain, and ease muscle cramps. It also helps relax the body in general, so is great for stress and anxiety. It has properties that aid skin regeneration, so it is useful to apply to healing cuts and grazes, or on scars and stretch marks. It can also be used for eczema and for acne.
Please note, that any serious conditions should be run past the doctor before treating with any home remedies, and that any of these remedies should only be used to treat mild afflictions. People who have sensitive skin should try these out on a small patch of skin before use. Avoid using if you are pregnant, or have low blood pressure.
So there you have it, my entire knowledge of lavender, all compiled together. I hope you find this interesting and helpful, and I hope I may have persuaded some of you to at least make a new addition to your garden!
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