Growing Heirloom Flowers by Chris McLaughlin

Author:Chris McLaughlin
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Cool Springs Press
Published: 2018-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

Keep dried calendula petals around for crafting.

Calendula tolerates most soil as long as it’s well draining.

NOTE

Please seek proper guidance if you would like to use calendula as a medical treatment. Do not drink or eat calendula if you are pregnant.

ENGLISH LAVENDER

(LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA)

“English” lavender (L. angustifolia) is actually a native of the western Mediterranean and northern Spain.

BRITAIN was introduced to lavender via the Romans, who had long since been bathing with the aromatic plant. In fact, “lavender” is derived from the Latin word lavare, which means “to be washed.” English lavender (L. angustifolia) is the species typically grown for crafting, eating, and as cut or dried flowers because it has the strongest fragrance. This is the type we’re focusing on here. Other lavender species that are also grown for their scent—just less so—are French and Spanish lavenders. Both French and Spanish types are identified interchangeably as L. dentata, L. stoechas, and L. lanata.

As happens way too often in the plant world, the common names don’t always ring true for the plant. Although it was dubbed “English” lavender, L. angustifolia is a native of the western Mediterranean and northern Spain. Lavender has been grown for centuries for its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. Its perfume was used to disguise body and other unpleasant odors, and the flower stalks were kept for crafting, fragrance, and as a moth repellent.

She’s as much of a workhorse today as she was in the past. English lavender attracts butterflies and bees; it is deer and rabbit resistant; it adds texture and scent to the cut flower bouquet; and it has endless uses for the handcrafter. Lavender is a shrublike, perennial evergreen plant that’s hardy all the way to Zone 5.

Mature lavender plants are semiwoody in nature and the new growth is a soft and pliable gray-green. In the summer, tiny, fragrant lavender-blue flowers show up on spikes. Starting lavender from seed is difficult; it’s much easier to propagate them from cuttings or purchase young starts from a nursery.

Plant lavender in full sun and average (not rich), well-draining soil. Soil type is flexible, but wet, heavy, clay soil is a death sentence. Soil that’s on the alkaline side will enhance the fragrance of the lavender, and a sunny slope is the ideal situation for growing lavender plants.

When planting new lavender, dig a hole deep enough to just allow the top of the rootball to be flush with the ground. In other words, don’t plant them too deeply. Newly planted lavender needs regular watering until the plants have become established. Once the plants are growing well, however, lavender can handle drought conditions and needs to be watered only after the soil is dry. In the early spring, trim the plants back by a third to encourage new growth.

• ‘Hidcote’ has dark, purple-blue flowers and is highly fragrant; it grows 18 inches tall and wide.

• ‘Munstead’ is excellent as a fresh-cut flower, as well as in dried bouquets; grows 18 inches tall and wide.

• ‘Vera’ has deep lavender-blue flowers and is 36 to 48 inches tall and wide.

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