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Harvesting lavender is a great way to tidy up unruly plants and will give you a whole bunch of inspiration for projects throughout the year.
Lavender is by far my very favourite scent. I love it fresh when the plants are in bloom, as it dries around the garden, in sachets tucked into my pillow at night, or as bath salts when I soak away the aches of the gardening day. This magical herb is said to promote relaxation, relieve stress, and even sooth an achy head. Oh and the bees and butterflies love it. We can’t forget the pollinators.
Lavender is commonly grouped into English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) with its delicate flowers and long stems that soar above the woody evergreen plant, and Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) with its showy hat of bracts on a perennial shrub. I grow a few ornamental Spanish lavender plants but for year-round use, it’s English all the way.
The best time to harvest English lavender is when the buds have formed on the plant but the flowers have not yet opened. Lavender harvested at this time of year will fall off the stems more easily when dry making it a tad easier to collect and will retain fragrance and colour longer. The cultivar of your lavender will also determine fragrance, colour, and longevity of the dried properties as well.
To harvest, use sharp bypass pruners and gather a small handful of long flower stems. Snip them at the base and continue collecting stems in your hand until you have a nice sized bundle. Secure the bundle with twine and continue until the plant is fully harvested.
Pruning the plants like this will keep the shrub tidy and evergreen through some colder climates. If your plants are leggy and you see lots of dead wood, it’s a good idea to summer prune them each year until they regain a tidier shape.
To dry the bunches hang in a warm, dry spot out of direct sunlight. Under eaves, in the garage, or somewhere in the garden that is protected is the perfect spot. I found an old painting ladder that works perfectly. In previous years I have dried it along a shady fence and made it into a wreath. Adding some drying lavender around your home will make it smell heavenly. I highly recommend it.
After 2-4 weeks and the lavender has fully dried, you can shake or gently rub the flower buds into a tray or bowl. Store lavender in a lidded jar in a cool dark place and repeat next year.
Thanks for visiting Weekend Project #45.
I don’t know why I don’t have Lavender. I had a plant once and I absolutely loved it. Someone once told me the lifespan of Lavender is only about 3 years. Is this true? I like to plant something that will be around for a few years to come.
Hi Randy, definitely not true. If you follow the instructions in this post for pruning back your plants in the summer, the plant will continue to produce fresh green stems above a woody base. My plants are many, many years old and they produce quite a lot of lavender buds each year. I hope you do get some to add to your garden.
Lavender is not my favorite (too much chore-time spent pruning it as a kid, I think) but I love your ladder!
I too love lavender & visited a lavender farm this year! How glorious to sit in fields of fragrant lavender!
I use mine in combination with other dried herbs in a blend of herbal salts to use with cooking & baking. I use about half ground herbs to half salt & it adds so much flavour to food, plus allows me to reduce the salt I would traditionally use.
I’ve also experimented with lavender jelly & have ‘made believers’ out of many of my friends with this amazing flavour. (Think fresh, hot lemon scones with lavender jelly….mmmmmm)
Why am I not growing lavender? Great photos and great post.
Those are stunning pictures. Lovely.
Thank you for the tips! I have two lavender bushes and been wondering what to do! I LOVE LOVE lavender!
I recently bought a perennial lavender plant at home depot but I have no idea how to take care of it. And tips or help? Thanks
Hi Nancy, it’s hard to know without knowing the kind of lavender and where you will be growing it. I would suggest you first check the label in the plant (if there isn’t one, go back to the store and get one and remember that for future its great to have the plant labels). Secondly, you can check out this search I did and if you see your plant there, click on it to see the care instructions. http://www.perennials.com/results.html?findplant=lavender&searchbutton.x=0&searchbutton.y=0
In my home garden, I plant English Lavender in hot dry areas with lots of sun. They prefer acidic soil so I usually plant them with blueberries and top dress with composed bark mulch. I water them regularly, but they are fairly drought tolerant so they often go in roughest parts of the garden: near the sidewalk and road and far away from the hose. Lavender also grows really well in containers. Just ensure there is proper drainage and they get watered regularly. Care and pruning is as listed in this article.
Your lavender is simply gorgeous. I wonder if I am to far south (Florida) to plant them. Your pictures are amazing. I would love it if you would share this post at our WIW linky party. Hope you can join us. :-)
Paula
ivyandelephants.blogspot.com
I always forget about lavender. It’s so beautiful! I am putting this on my list of things to plant next spring :)
Thank you for the tips and ideas! I have quite a few lavender bushes in my front yard that I let grow wild. Now I have a reason to harvest it :)
Oh how I love lavender. It has followed us on each move. Thank you for the tips!
Hi Stevie, I have a couple of questions:
1. Is the lavender harvested this way edible? I love the smell and taste of lavender and have always wanted to use it in my baking, but the price tag on specialty “edible” lavender in the stores has always put me off. As long as my plants aren’t being sprayed with harmful chemicals, is there any reason I can’t bake with it?
2. I enjoy keeping the lavender intact (with stems) in its bundle and putting it in vases around my house. The only problem is that it sheds terribly. Every time I move the vase, dozens of little lavender buds fall off. This drives me crazy! Any way to avoid the mess?
Thanks for a great article!
Hi Laura,
1. Yes! It’s edible. Enjoy :)
2. Regarding the shedding, I’m not sure. I know there are sprays you can buy but I’m not sure if I would use them given I stay away from synthetic products for the most part and it will also cover up the fragrance. Perhaps some other great minds out there have some suggestions…
These hanging lavender bunches look both sad and beautiful. I’m not sure it would grow where I’m from but I’d love to have some. Plus they’d take one look at me and die…..
I’m your newest follower. The lavender got me. :)
I am a Brit – but now live in northern Portugal. Three years ago we bought about 20 small plants and planted them under the windows of our bedrooms . We cut them back well in the spring, into the green wood – not the older, brown wood. This makes lavender branch out and grow really thickly. Just remember, lavender AND rosemary does NOT like being cut back so harshly that you cut into the old brown wood – but it loves to be cut back into the green growth! Last year .. it was already a ‘hedge’ as it had all joined together .. and flowered heavily! We prune it well every spring, and just trim back the dead flower heads we haven’t managed to use whenever we can ! Lavender loves the heat, the dry areas, and poorish soils. It grows almost anywhere !! AND .. if you are green fingered if you take little cuttings from your plants putting them in sandy soil you should be graced with lots of NEW plants for the rest of your garden!
I have SO much dried lavender from last year .. and a HUGE amount to pick from this!! lol!! I made many many little sachets for lingerie drawers and for my grandchildren who like to put them under their pillows to remind them of Nanny! [They still live in the UK] I used those little voile bags you can buy to put jewellery in as they are SO cheap and come in so many colours too. I bought mine on ebay as they were much cheaper than even the local shops.
I made lavender sugar, lavender bath salts and lavender lemonade which .. was such a success last year there wasn’t a party without it out here !!