Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Aromatic
Ah… The fragrance of lavender! It evokes many memories, such as strolling through blooming lavender fields on a hot summer day filled with bees. This is an herb that if I were on a desert island, I would want to grow!
Growing lavender in my garden every year is essential and I find many uses for the fresh and dried flowers, from culinary to sachets, lavender wands, extracts and wreaths. Scroll down for a honey lavender ice cream recipe and a lavender and goat cheese omelet that is divine. Plus, learn how to make an elegant and fragrant lavender wreath with fresh lavender. To learn how to make lavender-scented body butter, go to How to Make Lavender-Scented Body Butter.
Types of lavender
There are many different types of lavender and I only describe two of them. For more information, go to gardenia.net . You can find the right type of lavender, based on size, flowering type, and flowering time, by reading this excellent article.
english lavender
English lavender or Lavendula angustifolia is easy to grow here in the mid-Atlantic, if you treat it as a short-lived annual or perennial. Surviving the winter can be tricky due to our freeze and thaw cycles in Maryland and I plant new plants each year to replace those that die. If some plants survive the winter, I celebrate! Hardy in USDA zones 5-9, English Lavender makes an excellent border along a walkway.
And if you live in a hot, humid area like Maryland, you may want to try a new variety ‘Bridget Chloe,’ which is touted as much more resistant to the wet conditions prevalent in the mid-Atlantic. With a ‘Provence’ kinship, ‘Bridget Chloe’ is worth trying. I just bought some plants and will give it a try! But I’ve tried many new ones that were supposed to be better suited to our conditions, like ‘Phenomenal’, and I’ve always missed them.
Also called true lavender, Lavendula angustifolia, is often associated with the famous purple fields of Provence. Native to the Mediterranean, this plant needs the poor sandy soil conditions that are common there. Flower colors vary from violet-blue, lavender, violet-blue, white and pink, depending on the cultivar.
Lavender is such a wonderful herb with so many uses, that if you have a well-drained location in full sun with low to moderate fertility, try growing some plants to have lavender flowers to use in sachets and cooking. The bees will appreciate it too!
french lavender
French lavender or Lavendula stoechas is not hardy for me here in zone 7a. But I pick it up at the nursery when I see it, because it is a prolific, long bloomer and my bees will visit it again and again for several weeks in June and July. Hardy in zones 8-9, you could try bringing it in for the winter, but it is difficult to overwinter, even in a greenhouse. It tolerates more humidity than English Lavender, both the foliage and the flowers are very aromatic. It has a great yield in containers and I hope to get at least two months of flowering during the summer.
Drying lavender is as simple as cutting the flower wands at the base with sharp scissors and gathering them with rubber bands into a bunch and hanging them in a cool, dark place for a couple of weeks.
Lavender Crafts
crowns
Creating a lavender wreath requires a lot of lavender!…at least half a dozen mature plants are required. One year I had a hedge of 36 plants and had enough to make several wreaths. Cut the lavender when the flowers are just beginning to open and show color. Later you will get crisp brown flowers. The base can be a simple coat hanger, but to make life easier, go to your local craft store and purchase a green wire base that has flexible “arms” that hold the bunches securely.
Use twice as much lavender as you think you will need, as the flowers shrink considerably as they dry and may loosen and fall from the clusters. Hang the completed wreath in a cool, dark place to dry for several weeks and then move it to the kitchen so you can break off some flowers and add them to the kitchen.
lavender wands
The wands are easy to create by starting with long lavender tips placed side by side in an odd number. I start with 17. the best tutorial I have found is at How to make lavender wands.
Culinary lavender
I use almost any type of fresh or dried lavender in cooking. Scones top my list, followed by a sublime honey and lavender ice cream. And don’t forget the drinks, like a lavender martini!
This is my favorite recipe for lavender buns.
Honey and lavender ice cream
The combination of lavender and honey is truly sinful in a creamy ice cream that you can make with local honey and, hopefully, some fresh or dried lavender from your garden.
While experimenting with edible flowers, I found a great honey lavender ice cream recipe that I tried several times and quickly disappeared into my house. It’s really delicious and one of the best ice creams I’ve ever had. Lavender is an unlikely candidate for flavoring ice cream, but it works. Go to the edible flower palette and eat your flowers! to see more uses for edible flowers.
Honey and lavender ice cream
Use a mild-tasting honey, such as wildflower or clover, for this; the lighter the color, the milder the flavor
-
2
do
thick cream -
1/2
do
half and half -
23
do
Mild Honey -
2
t
dried lavender flowers
Take a dried lavender stick and remove the flowers with your hands; they will be brittle -
2
Big
Eggs -
1/8
t
Salt
Bring cream, half-and-half, honey, and lavender to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over moderate heat; stirring occasionally, then remove from heat. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Pour the cream mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl and discard the lavender. Return the mixture to a clean saucepan and heat again until hot.
Beat eggs and salt in a large bowl, then add 1 cup hot mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour the rest of the hot cream mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and registers between 170 and 175 degrees on a thermometer. Instant reading, approximately 5 minutes. Don’t let it boil!
Pour the custard into a clean bowl and cool completely, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.
Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and place in the freezer to harden.
Goat Cheese and Lavender Tortilla
The following goat cheese omelet recipe combines a savory dish with the unexpected floral flavor of lavender to create a divine meal any time of day. Add some fruit, avocado, and maybe a loaf of crusty garlic bread and you have a complete meal. For the filling I used wilted chard, but you can add some thawed or wilted spinach leaves instead. Other great additions would be caramelized onions, ham, or roasted red pepper.
Goat Cheese Omelette with Lavender
-
1
t
Butter -
3
Big
Eggs -
23
Ounce
Fresh spinach or chard, or frozen and thawed vegetables -
4
t
Goat cheese, crumbled -
1
t
dried lavender flowers -
1
t
Dried herbs, such as oregano, chives, thyme. - Salt and pepper to taste
Add butter to a cast iron skillet and heat until hot.
Beat 3 large eggs in a bowl
Add the eggs to the skillet over high heat and, using a spatula, fold the edges of the egg mixture to allow the raw egg to flow to the edges and cook; This process takes between 2 and 3 minutes
Once most of the eggs are set, add the vegetables and meat to the omelet; These can be sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions or sweet peppers, chard, spinach, ham/bacon, or grated cheese.
Add desired herbs, lavender, and salt and pepper.
Let cook for 30 seconds and then, using a pancake spatula, fold the omelette in half and let it cook for another minute.
Remove from the pan and serve with accompaniments, such as parsley or avocado slices, or top with sauce.
Many other uses
I made lavender extract by soaking the flowers in vodka. Also, to get rid of old lavender bunches, I add them to the grill fire for an aromatic smoke. And of course, we can’t forget to add fragrant lavender flowers to the medley. I created some medley in tulle bags and added them to a basket of dried flowers to scent the room.
