Lavender

Description

Lavandula officinalis, true lavender, is a small, hardy evergreen shrub of upright habit which, when mature, may be over a metre tall and often needs support. Grown for the delightful scent of its flower spikes, but decorative also for its dense silvery leaves, lavender grows wild in hilly areas, while below 500 metres Lavandula spica, or spike lavender, is widespread; it is sensitive to cold and flowers about a month later.

Stem

Lavender stems, elegantly twisted, and woody from the second year of cultivation, they tend to shed their bark on the older branches and to become prostrate.

Leaves

The leaves are opposite, linear, covered with fine down that takes on silvery tints on the old leaves, almost white on young ones; they too are delightfully fragrant, more or less intensely depending on the variety.

Flowers

The leaves are opposite, linear, covered with fine down that takes on silvery tints on the old leaves, almost white on young ones; they too are delightfully fragrant, more or less intensely depending on the variety.

Cultivation

Growing lavender presents no difficulty: the only thing to watch is drainage, which must be excellent, since the roots of these plants cannot tolerate standing water. Cultivation on steep ground is ideal, both because the run-off of rainwater is helped and because lavender roots help to hold in place soils that tend to slide. Lavender can also be grown in pots, provided they are kept outdoors.

Exposure

All varieties of lavender love the sun, an open position will help to prevent fungal infections.

Propagation

The simplest and most common method of propagation is to root cuttings of semi-woody shoots, about fifteen centimetres long, taken from young plants at times of year when the temperature is steadily mild, preferably in their second year after planting.

Growth

To keep the clumps in shape, the plants should be pruned hard at the end of flowering and, if necessary, more lightly in spring, to remove branches damaged by snow or frost and to encourage new shoots.

Harvesting

The time of harvest depends on the variety, grown, the exposure and the altitude; what must be borne in mind is that the flowers, once cut, must be processed immediately if the essence is to be extracted from them. It is important to pick the flowers when they are not yet fully open, in the central hours of dry days.

Storage

Lavender flowers dried in the shade are then stored in airtight tins; if placed in bags of fine cloth and put in wardrobes or drawers, they pleasantly scent the linen.

Beauty

Those who would like home-made lavender water should place 30 grams of freshly picked flowers in half a litre of 32° alcohol and leave them to steep for a month, then filter it all.

Health

The scent of lavender attracts bees, which produce an excellent aromatic honey, whereas mosquitoes dislike it and are put off by it: on sultry summer evenings it is therefore advisable to rub oneself with lavender water, both to refresh oneself and to avoid annoying bites. An infusion of lavender flowers (10 grams of flowers left to infuse for three minutes in a 200-millilitre cup) relieves headaches caused by slow digestion; it also has a relaxing and antiseptic action, which makes it helpful in cases of laryngitis, bad breath and flatulence.

Curiosity

The etymology of the name leaves no doubt, and recalls the use the Romans made of this plant: they used it to scent bathwater and as a cleanser.