Friday 29 June 2012

The Scented Garden - Lavender

Scent in the garden is an elusive delight, but a powerful one.  Lavender has been grown in gardens from late medieval times, and the essential oil used for perfumes.  The oil is a powerful, natural antiseptic.  Perhaps this is why the Romans used it in their baths; its name comes from the Latin verb lavare, meaning to wash. (Anna Pavord)
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"ladies fair, I bring to you
lavender with spikes of blue;
sweeter plant was never found
growing on our english ground."
Caryl Battersby
I have a small Lavender hedge in the garden whose fragrance gives me great pleasure.  It is planted at the edge of the path so that when I walk past I brush against it .  On a soft summer evening the the garden fills with its scent.
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"lavender, sweet lavender;
come and buy my lavender,
hide it in your trousseau, lady fair.
Let its flovely fragrance flow
Over your from head to toe,
lightening on your eyes, your cheek, your hair."
Cumberkand Clark Flower Song Book 1929
Each year I take a few cuttings and now I have another small hedge beginning in the front garden which is intermixed with Rosemary bushes.
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via pinterest
"here’s your sweet lavender
sixteen sprigs a penny
that you’ll find my ladies
will smell as sweet as any" Lavender Sellers’s Cry, London England CA 1900
If you want to dry Lavender pick the flowers when they are at their best - the temptation is to leave them on the plant too long.  Tie them in bunches and hang them upside down in an airy place.

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Lavenders must have sun and good drainage and should be clipped over after flowering to keep the bushes tidy.  After a few years the plants will become straggly and full of dead wood.  But if you always take cuttings they can easily be replaced and don't take too long to establish.
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via pinterest
Lavender leaves and flowers have more crushability than any other plant - their fragrance is so reviving and should be a must for any garden. (Helen Dillon)

All quotes from Lavender Shoppe Quotes

32 comments:

  1. I'm a great Lavender fan too. I have four different varieties on the go at present, but my favourite is definitely "Hidcote", a very dark-coloured one.
    I remember visiting a Lavender farm and distillery (where they made Lavender essence) in Hunstanton, which must be quite near where you went on your recent holiday I think.

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    1. I prefer the really dark purple one too. We often pop in to Norfolk Lavender on the way home from our hols. They make all sorts out of lavender including beer - they must do good business as they are expanding all the time.

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  2. I love lavender too and I was brought up in North Norfolk about a 5 min drive from Norfolk Lavender so visited it lots as a child (although I didn't really appreciate it then!). I find that lavender self seeds quite readily, we've even got some growing in cracks at the edge of the pavement which I guess I should pull up before it does any damage, but it seems such a shame!

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    1. We visit N.Norfolk at least 3 times a year - I love the place. We often pop in to Norfolk Lavender to stock up on different plants and lotions and potions. It does seem a shame to pull up stray plants maybe you could do it gently and re-plant them somewhere more suitable.

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  3. Hi Elaine, I love lavender and a garden isnt a garden to me without some.We have got lots dotted about, different varieties and I have even got a lavender in a hanging basket! I have also got some baby plants that have self seeded so it obviously likes our soil, thats the first time it has ever done that.I think it must be Hidcote that we have at the front of our house, its very dark and is quite small but very beautiful

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    1. I never realised that lavender self-seeded perhaps I don't leave the flower spikes on long enough - I wouldn't mind though - I can't get enough of it.

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  4. Lavender is such a wonderful plant but I find it hard to grow in the climate where I live. It's just a bit too shady and damp. I love the quotes you have included in your post, the photos are gorgeous.
    Anne xx

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    1. Thank you Anne - lavender does like sun I'm afraid - you'll just have to make do with the pictures I have shown.

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  5. I love the smell of lavender,,infact I just bought my first plant and since we are renting our house it is in a pot..thanks for all the goon info and the beautiful poems on leavender,,
    devon
    www.devonstitching.blogspot.com

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    1. I to love the scent of lavender - I have never thought about having one in a pot - will try it with a French Lavender I think

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  6. I love lavender and I plant it nearly every year and nearly every year it doesn't make it through the winter. How disappointing. Beautiful pictures--I can almost smell it.

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    1. Perhaps you could dig it up before winter sets in, put it in a container and bring it indoors for protection. Or just take loads of cuttings for plants for the following year.

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  7. A most enjoyable post. I'm looking forward to my lavenders flowering for the first time as they'll be one flower that I can smell! Flighty xx

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    1. Thanks Flighty. Mine are taking their time flowering and the rain has made them flop forward - I am just going out to take some remedial action. Wish me luck

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  8. Love your post and love lavender. I have 2 plants in the garden at the moment but I am waiting for my order of 36 lavender plug plants I got through an offer in Gardeners World. All you had to do was pay £4.95 for the postage.

    Can't wait to fill the garden with it's gorgeous scent and I'm sure our new honey bees will appreciate it too!

    Julie xx

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    1. Sounds like a bargain Julie - will you create a hedge with all those plants - I can smell it now!

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  9. Lovely lavender! I'm hoping to have a lavender hedge eventually so I'll have to start taking cuttings.

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    1. I took half a dozen cuttings last year which I have now planted out - the beginnings of another hedge. You can't have enough lavender in my opinion.

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  10. Oh how beautiful Elaine. I love lavender. Both of my plants died over the winter and I was so sad to see them go. Especially on one of our mildest winters. I will have to replace them because I miss having it in the garden this summer. Such heavenly fragrance. Have a wonderful week ahead.

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    1. I don't know anyone who doesn't love lavender - what a shame you lost your plants - perhaps next time you buy some you could take cuttings just in case they don't make it through the next winter.

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  11. Mmmmmm. I can almost smell those lovely lavenders! I rarely bring any in for bouquets, though, because my cats are a bit too mischievous. But once they're dried, I cut them and crumble them over the carpet before vacuuming. Makes the room smell like a lavender field.

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    1. What a good idea - I will certainly give that a try.

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  12. Hello,
    what a lovely post.
    Lavender is just my favourite too...
    I have pots of it all around my garden...
    Wishing you a lovely Monday!
    Maria x

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    1. Thank you for your comments Maria - I have just been over to your delightful blog and become a follower. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

      Elaine

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  13. I love lavender hedges, but unfortunately my dogs have never appreciated it. And I don't have enough sun in the garden to grow it either.
    I used to go to Norfolk Lavender too when we went on holidays to North Norfolk.

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    1. I don't think anyone has had enough sun to grow lavender this year.

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  14. Enchanting pictures of wondeful lavender.I love it

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    1. If we had a bit more of a summer with actual sunshine the garden would be full of its fragrance. As it is, the plants are struggling to flower let alone give off their lovely scent.

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  15. Amazing photos. The first one is just drop dead gorgeous.

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    1. I don't think I've ever seen a bad photo of lavender it is such a photogenic plant.

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  16. The tiny lavender plant in my garden is a bit of a sorry sight, but it seems to have shown a bit of improvement in the last few hot, sunny days. I love the scent of lavender, so I treated myself to a bunch at Saturday's Farmer's Market. A put the flowers in a little blue bottle and put it up in the bathroom where I can enjoy its fresh perfume.

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    1. At the end of the flowering season I cut all the stems off and dry them for the house - they are supposed to keep flies out - the rest I put in amongst my lingerie - gorgeous.

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