Lavender

Lavender is as popular today as it was in the 5th Century when the Romans used it to perfume their bath water. The word lavender comes from the Latin word "lavare" to wash.

Known as the royal herb of Europe, King Charles during his secret visits to Nell Gwynne would bring her a bag of lavender tied with a gold ribbon. Queen Elizabeth I loved lavender conserves. Queen Victoria washed in lavender water as did the late Queen Mother. Queen Elizabeth II uses lavender talcum powder.

Lavender is a member of the mint family occurring naturally from the Mediterranean through to the Middle East and India and is now found growing in gardens all over the world.

There are 3 varieties of this evergreen shrub:

• English lavender is a small bushy shrub with highly perfumed flowers on long stems and is used mainly for perfume and cosmetics.

• French lavender is a larger shrub and is the hardiest of them all. With a fat cluster of flowers, flowering most of the year. The perfume is excellent, but not as potent as the English.

• Italian lavender is a small shrub , the flowers are a smaller version of the French with a little tuft of petals at the end of the flower and very little perfume.

Propagation

Propagate lavender from cuttings dipped in hormone powder or honey, taken in autumn and placed in course sand or seed raising mix. Mass cuttings are best but do not place under plastic bags. Lavenders grow well in a sunny position in any type of soil, acid, alkaline, clay or sandy, as long as it is well draining.

Avoid overfeeding as this leads to soft growth and few flowers. One tea spoon of slow release fertiliser each spring is all that is needed. More lavenders are killed from kindness rather than neglect.

Usage

Farmers are now using lavender as an alternate crop and small acreage farms growing lavender are turning their farms into tourist venues.

Lavender is used as an insect repellent for mosquitoes and sand flies. Just rub lavender oil on the exposed areas of the body. For moths and silverfish put sachets in draws and wardrobes. Lavender was also used as an antiseptic to treat soldiers wounds in World War 2. Wollongong and Charles Sturt Universities are researching into the use of lavender to decrease scarring and healing time for burns patients.

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