Common name for a genus (Lavandula) of fragrant herbs or shrubs of which a Mediterranean subshrub species (L. spica) is grown for ornament in the garden and for its sweet scent when dried. The dried flowers are used to fill sachets and to perfume clothing or linens. Commercially they, and the green parts, are used for making "oil of spike," aromatic vinegar and lavender water.
True lavender, not being fully hardy, is little grown in northern gardens, where it must be protected over winter by mulching. It is more popular, therefore, in the milder Pacific Coast and in the South. As seed produces variable plants, propagation is commonly by cuttings of selected plants. Taken of one-year-old "wood" in spring, these are set in a shady place, 4 inches apart, and kept cultivated for a year.
Topped Lavender
Lavender Flowers
Then they are transplanted not less than 2 feet asunder in permanent quarters in dry, light, limy, friable soil and full sunlight. In such a location they thrive best, develop the maximum fragrance and are least likely to be injured in winter. In wet soils, they grow but poorly; in rich soils, they become lush and sappy, and in both types they lack fragrance and easily succumb to frost.
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