Lavender is one of my favourite plants in my garden. It’s beautiful, easy to grow and smells amazing.
It is best when planted late spring or early summer, ideally in May. Like many other herbs, it does well in most soils once it gets full sun and moderately good drainage.
Botanical name: Lavandula
Flowering time: Summer
Height & spread: 30cm-1m height, 30cm-1.5m spread
Preparing your soil
If you have heavier clay soil, lavender can become woody and the plant may not live as long. I have very heavy clay soil, so I added gravel to the base of my plant for drainage.
If you want to know more about soil types, I have a post here you can check out.
Lavender grows well in pots also and makes a lovely addition to a balcony or driveway if you are growing in an urban environment. Just ensure you add some gravel to the end of your pot for drainage.
Caring for lavender
Lavender does not need to be watered too often, and in fact over-watering it is more likely to kill it than anything else.
Lavender should be pruned every year to keep the plant compact. Some people prune after it flowers in late summer and others in early spring. I prune mine in early spring. Use a secateurs to remove the flower stalks and an inch of the year’s growth.
To propagate lavender you can take semi-ripe cuttings from young plants in early summer. You can also collect seed from dried flower heads and plant the following year.
Benefits and uses
Lavender is loved by pollinators and makes a great addition to a vegetable garden as it will attract bees and hoverflies. Its flowers yield a lot of nectar and bees make high-quality honey from its nectar.
Lavender is an aromatic herb, famed for its calming qualities. It is often used to treat insomnia, nervous stomach, and anxiety. it can also be used as an analgesic and an antiseptic. It is also beneficial to the respiratory system, in particular in the treatment of colds and flu. Lavender is one of the most popular ingredients in aromatherapy used to treat insomnia and headaches.
It is also widely used in the culinary world, often used in condiments and dressings.
I love it too–the smell is comforting to me.
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Just love the smell of Lavender…so uplifting. I have planted some in a new bed. Hope it does well for me.
It is without a doubt, my favourite smell in the world