LAVENDER

Lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia) has been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years, to heal wounds, treat headaches and hysteria, and to promote calmness. Modern science has shown that lavender‘s sweet-smelling essential oil, predominantly found in the flowers, can alleviate stress and anxiety when inhaled, and alleviate insomnia. Topical and inhaled lavender is also reported to reduce acute and chronic pain. Lavender oil is active against many species of bacteria and fungi too. Roman soldiers took lavender to battle with them to dress their wounds, and the oil was used during World War 1 to disinfect floors and walls. Likewise, in the Middle Ages lavender was used on the floors of castles and sickrooms for its insecticidal and disinfectant properties.

English lavender (also known as true lavender and Lavandula officinalis) is the most hardy of all lavenders. It needs full sun and good drainage; in wet or clay soils grow on mounds. Lavender grows best when there is adequate calcium in the soil – on a commercial production basis the soil ph might be between 6.0 and 8.0.