It’s hard to say an unkind word about lavender.
Really, what’s not to love about a plant that pumps out lovely scented wands for enjoyment all summer and asks virtually nothing in return.
This plant does its best in so-so soil, and once established, requires little or no supplemental water, no fertilizers and no attention other than a little trimming.
In addition to being an attractive plant, the herb has been prized for centuries for its practical uses. Egyptians used it for mummification, the Romans sprinkled it in their public baths, and, as one ancient Christian reference has it, Adam and Eve grabbed a handful on their way out of Eden.
The many medicinal and craft uses extend far beyond these few examples: soaps, perfumes, body scrubs, salves, candles and wreaths. In the kitchen, its uses are limited only to the cook’s imagination. Even the crafting-challenged among us can dry the leaves and flower heads for use in sachets or potpourri.
Lavender loves dry sunny exposed conditions and well-drained soil. Western Washington’s mild maritime winters and dry summers provide near ideal conditions for growing lavender, a perennial herb that hails from the Mediterranean region south to Africa and to the southeast regions of India.
The Sequim-Dungeness Valley on the Olympic Peninsula is one of the best places to grow lavender on Earth. The area, sheltered from rain by the nearby Olympic Mountains, features an especially dry, sunny microclimate.
Ready to plant some lavender? You can this fall, when nurseries offer perennials on clearance, or bide your time until spring, when the plant selection is generally more plentiful.
Lavender can be grown from seed, cuttings or young plants called plugs. Growing lavender from seed has its drawbacks. Most lavender varieties can’t be produced uniformly by seed or at all in the case of sterile hybrids, said Kristi Fina, who grows lavender commercially at her Stanwood farm and sells her plants at the Everett and Mukilteo farmers markets.
Seeds also need to be stratified — in other words, given a cold treatment — to germinate, Fina said. Seeds can be stratified in a refrigerator, but nature can give seeds the same treatment if planted outdoors in the fall. The number of seeds that germinate is often low too.
Lavender started from cuttings taken from another plant produces an exact replica of the plant. For most home gardeners, staring with plugs is the easiest choice, she said.
Herbs and lavender captivated Sandy Livingstone early, and she has the 60-acre farm to prove it. She grows hundreds of varieties at her wholesale commercial farm, Sunshine Enterprises, in the Skookumchuck Valley near Olympia. After growing lavender for several decades, she shared some growing tips.
Lavenders aren’t susceptible to any serious pests or diseases, she said.
Sometimes spit bugs get on the plant, but they’re more unsightly than harmful to the plant and can be handpicked. Lavender becomes woody as it grows older. The plants will last a decade if their shape is maintained by trimming off about an inch of foliage after blooming. She also gives the plants a light trim in the early spring.
These plants are drought tolerant, requiring virtually no supplemental water.
However, newly planted lavender does need water until it becomes established, which takes one to two years. When it comes to fertilizer, they really don’t need it.
“If you feed them they get good foliage,” she explained. “If you starve them, you get more flowers.”
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.
Sandy Livingstone grows more than a hundred varieties of lavender at her commercial farm in Tenino.
The lavender genus includes more than 25 species of evergreen shrubs. English lavenders (Lavandula angustifolias) flower mid- to late spring and offer outstanding fragrance. These tend to grow as a compact, bushy shrub with gray-green leaves with long purple flower stalks.
English lavender hybrids (Lavandula x intermedia) are sometimes referred to as lavandins. They tend to grow larger and faster than English lavender and usually have long gray leaves. Grosso and Provence are well-known examples. Grosso is excellent for craft projects such as wands that involve the flowers staying on the stem, while Provence buds release more easily, making it a good choice for potpourri.
Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) is sometimes called French lavender. It features pinecone shaped flowers, and flower colors can vary from dark purple to pink and even white.
A yellow lavender (Lavandula viridis) is available, but it has little smell, and Livingstone said it wasn’t hardy and had no other uses. On the other hand, wooly lavender varieties such as Ana Luisa and Richard Gray are useful showstopping additions with gray foliage and dark purple flowers.
Livingstone suggests these lavenders for Western Washington home gardeners:
Hidcote: An English lavender with a dark purple flowers and bushy habit. One of the most popular lavenders, it’s good for edging and hedges. Grows 18 to 24 inches tall.
James Compton: A Spanish lavender with narrow foliage and an upright, bushy habit. Its long “ears” are covered with small red-purple flowers. When in bloom it looks like it’s covered with hundreds of butterflies. Virtually the same plant as another lavender called Pappilon. Grows 18 to 24 inches tall.
Otto Quast: A Spanish lavender with dense gray-green foliage and masses of purple pinecone shaped flowers. A hardy plant with a long blooming time. Grows 18 to 20 inches tall.
Gros Bleu: A hybrid lavender that offers a growth habit similar to Grosso but topped by large, navy blue flowers.
Grosso: A hybrid lavender with large, beautiful purple flowers. Grows up to 30 inches tall.
Melissa: An English lavender good for culinary uses. The plant has an upright bushy habit and dense gray-green foliage. Flowers are pink and white.
Sayra Hill, an avid herb gardener in Snohomish, uses lavender in various ways, including in her kitchen, as a salve to soothe aching muscles, and in aromatherapy products as a licensed aesthetician. She shared a few favorite ways to use it.
Sore muscle soak: Pack a quart canning jar with lavender blossoms and stems. Fill with apple cider vinegar and top the jar with a nonreactive, nonmetal lid (vinegar reacts poorly with metal). Let the lavender infuse the vinegar for two to three months. Then, strain the lavender and use one or two cups of the soak in a hot bath to soothe sore muscles.
Lavender lemonade: Hill prepares this lemonade for Snohomish Historical Society teas. The lemonade contains just a hint of lavender and is a pleasant pale pink. Prepare frozen plain lemonade concentrate according to package directions and set aside. Steep a half-cup dried lavender in 1 quart boiling water for several minutes. Strain out the lavender and retain the liquid. Add the prepared lemonade to the liquid until there is a gallon of liquid total.
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