Flower Spotlight: Lovable Lavender

Lavender is a truly amazing flower. While it’s not as glamorous as the rose or as exotic as the orchid, lavender has every other flower beat in terms of versatility.

Lavender looks beautiful in the garden, smells divine in a flower arrangement, perfume or sachet. As a bonus, it even makes a delicious topping for cheesecake!

Need we say more? Read on to discover just how incredible this under-appreciated beauty is, and see why it earned our flower spotlight this month.

Amazing Versatility: Lavender’s Greatest Strength

Wreaths and dried flower arrangements

Lavender’s combination of beauty, divine fragrance and staying power make it perfect for wreaths and dried flower arrangements. Its long shape also makes it ideal for forming into a wreath, which explains why lavender has more than one Pinterest page devoted to wreaths made from its dried stalks and blooms.

Soap

Lavender smells absolutely heavenly, which makes it perfect for soaps and body washes. You can find lavender varieties of popular commercial soaps and body washes.

Or, you can usee a recipe to make your own homemade lavender soap.

Sachets

Lavender’s wonderful fragrance also makes it perfect for sachets. Lavender holds onto its scent for a long time, and will infuse your clothes with its soothing smell.

Here’s a video with instructions for making homemade lavender sachets.

Cooking

Not everyone knows about it, but lavender is actually pretty versatile in the kitchen, as well. It is delicious in everything from Herbes de Provence, to creamy vanilla cheesecake with lavender syrup, to lavender shortbread cookies or sparkling lavender lemonade.

Here are more recipes you can make with culinary lavender.

Note: Never cook with lavender from a florist’s shop or garden center, which can contain pesticide. Use only culinary lavender from a cooking store or pescticide-free lavender you have grown yourself.

Candles and aromatherapy

Lavender doesn’t just smell good–its scent has a definite soothing quality that makes it just right for aromatherapy. Lavender essential oil is a good ingredient for scent infusers or to rub in small amounts on your temples to ease stress.

Also, lavender-scented pillow sprays are a very relaxing way to float yourself off to sleep. Our team member Melissa absolutely loves these lavender-scented shower steamers that fill the shower with a burst of lavender-infused steam.

And, of course… gardening!

Lavender does all of these other things so well, it could almost slack off in the garden, but it doesn’t. Lavender is absolutely gorgeous in the garden, with blooms that can be blue, purple or pink, beautiful silvery foliage, and a low-maintenance attitude.

Not all varieties are edible, but edible varieties like Munstead lavender look beautiful in your garden and also excel at every one of the tasks listed above. Munstead lavender is perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 5b to 8a, makes a great border, container plant or massing, and attracts butterflies. What more could you ask for?

Photos courtesy of JLPC, Anita Ritenour, and Erin Costa.

Stop by our website to learn more about our easy solutions to everyday problems. Finally, you can spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying your garden!