For many gardeners, Lavender Buds is among their favorite perennials. Not only do they look beautiful when planted in a border, but they can be grown to fill in large gaps around flower bushes. If you are considering planting herbs in your yard for the first time, you may want to consider planting lavender. Here are some tips on how to grow lavender.
While most lavenders come up as a trailing plant, there are some that bloom as a small shrub. The flower and foliage are a yellow-orange color, sometimes referred to as being “lemony.” The dark purple flowers look best when they are planted in groups of three to six. The herb lavender bud itself is a long, tapered perennial that produces and emits a fragrant scent.
Growing lavenders in your garden provides an English lavender, a lovely lavender variety. This variety is extremely fragrant and blooms for only a short period during the year. This makes it perfect for planting as a runner along paths and in backyards. This plant is a true “runway” plant and is very hardy.
In growing this variety, the English lavender features four basic growth habits. These are Larrigue, rhizomes, the flowering and the fruit. These are all self-supporting. The Larrigue grows up to three meters tall and the other two measure one meter. When the Larrigue attains maturity it drops its spikes and forms a new plant.
The flower spikes will grow in groups of four. These can be harvested often for your culinary uses. The mature leaves and flowers will drop off when the plant reaches full size. When growing the English lavender in your garden you will find it has many growing areas, some larger than others.
The English lavender grows on trees in California, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. The culinary uses of these herbs is highly varied. Some of the common uses include cooking, potpourri, scented oils, essential oils, aroma therapy and even as a mosquito repellent.
The culinary purposes of the lavandula angustifolia are thought to be two fold. One is the elimination of insect pests which includes flies and bugs that may be carrying dangerous diseases. The other is for the purification of the air, which may be contaminated with matters harmful to health.
The culinary lavandula varieties are sold as single specimens for the home gardener or planting in a garden. Some varieties are hardy and can survive the winter in containers outside. These hardy varieties of lavandula are not suitable for planting in the northern or southern states. When planting, you should use at least three quarters of an inch. When growing the lavandula x intermedia, one should mulch in order to keep the roots warm.
While growing the camphor and the angustifolia, the soil should be made moist but not soggy. This will ensure that the plant has an abundant supply of water. Both the lavandula intermedia and camphor are ideal for growing in low lying areas. The herb also compliments well on a range of perennial herbs including basil, mint, sage, chives, thyme, oregano, ginger, tarragon and basil.
Lavender buds will bloom in the fall with the appearance of small dark purple flowers. There is no need to water the plant during this time, but you can place a few floating lavender plants in a bowl of water. You will notice that the flowers disappear within days. The lavender buds will eventually fall off into the soil where they will produce new blooms. The fragrant leaves and twigs provide a wonderful aromatic aroma when the plant is picked. It’s a good idea to rinse any leaves that appear green before cooking.
English lavender flowers are very pretty with pink and white blooms. These plants are ideal for container gardens. Lavenders will grow easily in sunny and dry areas, but it is more ideal to move them in the shade once a month or so. The English lavender flowers are fragrant from the time they are planted until the time they bloom.
Many people use culinary lavender for cooking. It adds a nice fragrance and adds taste to food. You can make a delicious, sweet and sour mix using the fresh lavender buds. You will enjoy the wonderful scent the next time you bake, roast, saute or stir fry.