Lavender has
been widely grown in gardens for its natural fragrance and for its use in arts
and crafts. Growing lavender has become more popular; however, for its use in a
variety of aromatherapy products. Lavender has a sweet floral scent with a
woodsy sort of herbal aroma to it and is excellent for helping to relieve
anxiety and tension. It is used in aromatic bath salts and bath oils for a
soothing relaxing bath and in sleep enhancing products such as aromatherapy
pillows and sleeping mists that can be sprayed on your sheets to help you fall
asleep. Lavender also has many medicinal purposes as well. It can be used as an
anti-inflammatory, an antiseptic, as an insect repellent and can bring relief
to insect bites. It can help to soothe burns and ease headaches as well. Given
its wide range of uses a lot of people are beginning to grow lavender for their
own personal use in making a variety of these products.
Growing lavender is fairly simple and can
be done from just about anywhere since it can be grown both indoors and out.
There are three major types of lavender, idenfied by region, including the
English variety (Lavandula angustfolia), the French variety (Lavandula x intermedia) and
Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas). Of
the three, it is the English variety that is most commonly used when growing
lavender for aromatherapy, fragrant, and medicinal purposes.
When growing
lavender indoors or in containers be sure to use sandy soil. Adding a bit of
lime to the soil will also help in growing lavender that is healthy and
fragrant. Preferring a lot of air circulation, you should keep your containers
in a area where the plants can get plenty of air but is shielded from high
winds. When watering your lavender plants, they will do best if they are
allowed to dry out just a bit before the next watering.
When growing
lavender out side, sandy rocky soil and sunny locations work best; although
lavender adapts well to a variety of different soils. If using mulch, sand or
pea pebbles work best and be sure to plan the lavender where you will get good
drainage to prevent the roots from becoming too wet.
Growing lavender can
be a easy and rewarding endeavor and is fairly simple even for those who are
not gardening experts. Just keep the basic rules in mind and you should have
great success growing lavender.
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