Lavender

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Lavandula is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. If you want to know about more of them check out here, Lavender.

Lavender comes in a variety of colors ranging from white to pink, various shades of blue, and purple. Purple is the color of royalty and speaks of elegance, refinement, and luxury, too.

In the Bible, lavender spiritual symbolism represents regal luxury and beauty. This nard was an expensive plant out of reach for most. The flower is also viewed as a symbol of the Goddess Virgin Mary. The spiritual meaning of lavender is innocence, serenity, and faithfulness, so it makes a fitting match.

The only Lavender species I have ever grown are the three listed below and that was because of their availability.

Munstead – a popular small plant with medium purple flowers, that can bloom twice.
Hidcote – small with dark bluish-purple flowers.
Provence – a large plant with pale purple flowers

Growing lavender is easy and rewarding. Lavender can be grown in garden beds or pots. To grow lavender successfully it needs well-drained soil and full sun. In arid climates lavender grows well as a perennial, but in humid climates it is often grown as an annual.

Light: Lavender needs full sun and well-drained soil to grow best. In hot summer climates, afternoon shade may help them thrive.

Soil: Lavender grows best in low to moderately fertile soils, so don’t amend the soil with organic matter before planting. Lavender performs best in neutral to slightly alkaline soils. Lavender loves full sun (at least 8 hours per day or more). Lavender’s native habitat is the area around the Mediterranean Sea which has dry, chalky/rocky ground, so it thrives on hot, dry, rocky, or sandy soil. Good drainage is a must – too much rain and it drowns.

There is no great secret to growing lavender. Lavender needs full sun and good drainage. It is more likely to die from excess moisture than from cold in winter. A pot is an excellent way to provide drainage, though the plant will be more vulnerable to cold temperatures than it would be in the ground.

Grows in Hardiness Zones ranges 5,6,7,8,9,10

Lavender is like a magnet when it comes to attracting bees to a garden. Its fragrance provides both pollen and nectar as nourishment. It also blooms during a mid-summer gap when bees do not have many food sources

Lavender as an Essential Oil

The Oil of lavender is known for its medicinal properties and has been utilized by medical practitioners since the medieval ages. Lavender essential oil is known to be rich in medicinal properties like antimicrobial activity, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antioxidant properties.

How to Use Lavender Oil

Lavender Oil has been used “neat”, in its pure undiluted form, on small burns, cuts, and insect bites against pain. This Lavender study showed an increase in healing and demonstrated that topical application of lavender oil promoted collagen synthesis.
Lavender Oil is put in diffusers to spread the scent in the air; inhaling it is useful for treating insomnia, fatigue, stress, anxiety, exhaustion, and fear. Inhaling the scent of Lavender Oil increases the alpha power of EEG as decreases anxiety and brings the subject to a better mood in healthy adults.
Lavender Oil is used in recipes for perfumes, shampoos, lotions, soaps, and the endless like.
Lavender Oil mixed with warm water as a compress is used in menstrual cramps, stomachache, arthritis, migraines, and muscle cramps.

Apply Lavender oil at your pulse points because this is where your blood pumps closest to the skin which means a faster absorption of the essential oils and quicker therapeutic benefits. These pulse points are found on your: temples, neck, chest, inner elbow, wrists, back of the knees, and ankles. The four pulse points that I use the most for applying essential oils are the temples, behind the ears, side of the neck, and inner wrists.

Dried Lavender

Dried Lavender is a natural moth-repellant and is traditionally used in drawers and closets. Its delightful scent infuses clothes and wood alike. Most lavender will keep a very strong fragrance for an entire season when dried, but when you store and care for it correctly you can extend that life upwards of 10 years. Historically, Lavender was woven with ribbons and placed between clothing to keep them fresh. They were called Lavender bottles and you can see how they are made here. Lavender is such a strong scent that it was used in ancient Egypt to scent tombs and used during the embalming project. It was also supposed to help the dead make their way to heaven. Dried lavender was found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1923 by Howard Carter and it was said to still hold the scent.
The initial taste sensory impact of lavender is a pungent floral flavor and aroma, with subtle notes of herbaceousness, earthiness, and mint. Different lavender varieties can take on additional undertones of fruit, smoke, and woodiness, making it a complex culinary herb. Herbs de Provance is a wonderful herbal mix that includes dried lavender that I added to my spice cabinet when I received a meatball recipe that called for it and I find it pairs well across the board with beef, chicken, and fish.
Lavender tea can help soothe digestive issues ranging from diarrhea to nausea and stomach cramps. The anti-inflammatory properties of lavender help soothe irritated stomach muscles, eliminating stomach pain. These same antispasmodic effects can help relieve indigestion, gas, and bloating.

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Try These Lavender Items:

Herbs De Provance

Lavender Scented Sachets

Lavender Flower Tea

Real Men Use Lavender

In Germany, a standardized essential oil extract of Lavandula angustifolia (SLO) for oral administration has been developed and approved for use in subsyndromal anxiety. The SLO product (Silexan, W. Spitzner Arzneimittelfabrik GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany), contains the 2 primary constituents of lavender oil—linalool and linalyl acetate. The SLO product is available in 80-mg gel capsules for once- or twice-daily administration and is marketed as an over–the–counter dietary supplement called Calm Aid in the United States.
Last but not least, and probably the most important, lavender oil has shown powerful effects on both mind and body. Research by Dr. Alan Hirsch, Founder and Neurological Director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, has proved the sensual aroma of lavender is a natural aphrodisiac that can enhance sexual arousal in men, especially when combined with the odor of pumpkin pie. The smell of lavender mixed with pumpkin pie was shown to increase arousal in men by 40 percent. However, lavender can stand on its own — the flower’s scent has been proven to relax and arouse at the same time, which is a wonderful way to set the mood.
“The combined odor of lavender and pumpkin pie had the greatest effect, increasing median penile-blood flow by 40%.” (Hirsch & Gruss; 2013)

The Magic of Lavender

Lavender encourages healing, calm, and relaxation. It supports the restoration of balance and peacefulness. Lavender offers a versatile range of magical properties, including love, protection, sleep, purification, happiness, and peace. Wear a sprig of lavender or lavender essence on your person to attract love, or include it in love spells to attract a partner. Lavender is also the symbol of purity and carries the power of purification. Typically, when an herb is of symbolic use it is presented instead of burned; It’s a sacrifice or offering.

The symbolism of lavender essence touches the archetype of feminine wisdom. It can seek, find, liberate, and heal the bond to your inner woman and with the other women in your life.

Growing, this amazing plant prevents bad vibes and provides positive energy, good luck, and prosperity.

Special Thanks to Alissa for her contribution to this article!

Peace, Kirsten

Disclaimer: Information is for Educational purposes. Please consult your medical care provider before using herbal medicine, particularly if you have a known medical condition or if you are pregnant or nursing. You are responsible for your health. As with conventional medicine, herbal medicine is vast and complex and must be used responsibly. They are not meant to be used to diagnose, treat, prescribe, prevent, or cure any disease or to administer in any manner to any physical ailments and is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of a trained health professional.

References: almanac.com, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612440/, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6007527/ ,