Lavender essential oil is one of the most widely used oils on the planet. Lavender not only smells amazing (to a lot of us anyhow!) It also has many qualities and uses.
Lavender was used thousands of years ago by the Egyptians. It is said that lavender was one of Cleopatra’s favorite herbs. The scent of lavender has even been discovered when opening 3000 year old Egyptian tombs! Lavender was used in ancient Egypt as a perfume and also part of the mummification process.
Pedanius Dioscorides (40-90AD) was the author of De Materia Medica, a 5 part Greek encyclopedia that was widely recognized as the most prominent encyclopedia on plant medicine for 1500 years. Dioscorides was a Greek physician who said that lavender was known to protect from illness, likely due to its antiseptic and antibacterial properties.
The first recorded farming of lavender comes from Arabia. The Arabians grew and distilled lavender oils and are thought to have brought it to France & Spain. The Romans brought lavender to England and also named the herb “Lavare”, to bathe. The Romans used lavender in their bath houses, bundling the flowers and steeping them in the water. It was also used by the Romans as insect repellant and to wash their clothes. Queen Elisabeth I is reported to have strewn lavender as she walked to fend off the stench caused by the plaque and plaque doctors would put lavender in their masks.
It is well documented that many herbs are wonderful in the garden. Herbs often have a strong aroma that pests do not like, but oddly enough, bees and other pollinators do. Plant lots of lavender in your garden and you may notice less slugs and snails and more bees and other pollinators. Lavender is a great landscaping plant too with its tall purple flower fronds, you get wafts of lavender scent as you walk past it. Lavender can also be cut for flower arrangements and wreaths.
There are numerous ways to use lavender. All parts of the culinary lavender plant are edible (flowers, leaves, stems & roots. (Be sure you have an edible variety before ingesting.) Lavender is often used in tea form to reduce stress, made into syrups for tea, coffee, cakes or scones. It can be made into a jelly (a favorite of Queen Victoria.) Essential oils are used as a scent for body products, candles, room sprays, melts, diffusers and cleaning products. Lavender plants are also used in tonics, salves, hydrosols, tinctures and more.
Today, lavender is found in many English gardens and across Europe. Many varieties also grow well in the states. Lavender is used today for:
Calming the nervous system
Reducing stress
Improving the mood
Relieving pain
Aiding in memory
Killing germs
Encouraging skin to heal
Mild sedative for a restful sleep
Pest control for gardening
& much, much more
You could say that lavender is steeped in history! What is your favorite way to use this herb?
