General

Obviously we’re not asking if you are actually a lavender plant, but you may be (or know) a Lavender in name – surname that is. If you aren’t a Lavender yourself, you may have heard of one of a number of famous Lavender’s. For example there is actor Ian Lavender, best known for his role… Read more »

As Shakespeare’s Ophelia said to Laertes; “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember” (Hamlet, Act 4, Scene V). Throughout traditional folklore, rosemary has long been associated with remembrance, perhaps because of the belief in its ability to improve the memory. This attribute is now coming to scientific significance. Scientists at the University of Northumbria… Read more »

OK, so we all know about the plethora of incredibly yummy ways that there are to cook with lavender (think lavender shortbread, lavender scones, lavender with lamb, the list goes on), but what about using a touch of our amazing culinary lavender to make something a little more thirst-quenching? Well lavender tea, is already a… Read more »

Yes, it may sound like some kind of exotic Hawaiian cocktail, but Linalool is actually the active chemical component found in lavender and around 200 other species of plants. Linalool is found mainly in the plant families of Lamiaceae (mints and other scented herbs), Lauraceae (such as laurels, cinnamon and rosewood) and Rutaceae (citrus fruits),… Read more »

If there is one thing we get asked most about at Jersey Lavender, it has to be pruning lavender. For some reason people seem to think that there is some mysterious wizardry to it. There really is not. It is all pretty straight forward. The issues are when and how hard, or not, to cut… Read more »

As we know, we can smell the wonderful aroma of lavender, look at it’s gorgeous foliage and flowers and even listen to songs about lavender (for more information have a look at our Lavender’s Blue article), but what about watching lavender? Well here’s our list of lavender movies, so that you can take your pick… Read more »

Lavender is beginning to enjoy a long overdue resurgence of popularity in today’s kitchens, and so we thought that you might like to have a think about some of the many ways that you can use lavender in your cooking. To many people when thinking about using lavender as an ingredient, they will think of… Read more »

“Lavender” is part of the broad botanical genus – Lavandula. This is thought to be made up of 50 different species, and within some of these species are perhaps hundreds of different cultivars/varieties. For the purposes of lavender oil we are mainly concerned with two species –lavandula angustifolia (sometimes called English lavender or true lavender),… Read more »

With Valentine’s Day approaching, it seems a good time to examine some of the symbolic uses of lavender, and what lavender has often been thought to mean. As far back as Roman times lavender was highly prized for its use in the bath houses to fragrance and purify the bathing waters (it is believed that… Read more »