Replacing an abandoned Lavender plant
I discovered something I didn’t know about lavender today when I was reading a little about the plant. It’s a member of the mint family. I’m sure everyone else in the world already knows that but that was my something new today.
At the beginning of the week I bought a lavender plant to replace my wife’s old one that we had to abandon in the last move. It was a real shame too because it was the first lavender plant that she had grow really well. Again it was one of those plants that we kept meaning to resurrect and just never got around to it. I remember when we first got it and Tracey was disappointed when after several months we had no flowers yet and when we were at the nursery little seedlings were budding all over the place!
So in order to make amends I’ve gone out and picked up a nice healthy looking specimen and have transplanted it over to a temporary pot. The pot’s one of those ones that has really good drainage but the saucer attached to the bottom so you can’t really see when water runs through it. In a couple of months when the plant outgrows the pot I’ll move it to a really nice larger pot.
The leaves of the plant are the most aromatic I think that I’ve ever encountered (mint is there too as well as tomato leaves). With the big plant that we used to have whenever Memphis would walk past it he would always brush up against it (Memphis tends to run into a lot of things) and the air would be filled with the smell of lavender. Much better than one of those artificial air fresheners!
In my reading too I discovered that French chefs use the buds as a herb in dishes, something else I didn’t realise I just assumed it was used for tea and for the oil. The plant is also used in the production of honey because it produces abundant nectar for the bees.
During Roman times, flowers were sold for 100 denarii per pound, which was about the same as a month’s wages for a farm labourer, or fifty haircuts from the local barber. Lavender was commonly used in Roman baths to scent the water, and it was thought to restore the skin. When the Roman Empire conquered southern Britain, the Romans introduced lavender. Source
I found this particularly interesting because I’m currently studying The Fall of the Roman Republic so anything to do with Ancient Rome interests me!
I’ve probably picked a good time of year to transfer the plant as lavender prefers cooler climates and it is just starting to cool down in Queensland. Once the roots are firmly established it is happy in drier conditions (something us Queenslanders know about!) but seeing as it is still early days I’ll make sure it gets plenty of water. Lavender also wants full sun and good drainage. So if you have a window sill available that gets a lot of sun you might consider lavender as it is an attractive plant and the smell is divine.
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