Lavender is one of the more common garden and backyard flowers, and for good reason. It has so many uses and benefits! I have to admit that lavender is one of my very favorite flowers. It doesn’t take a whole lot of care, looks gorgeous, and is something that I use quite frequently for numerous applications. I have a few lavender plants started in our new yard, with plans of getting many more! I would love to have a lavender forest, really, for just the scent alone. Here are 10 reasons to grow lavender!
10 Reasons to Grow Lavender
Lavender is Easy to Grow
As I already mentioned, lavender is super easy to grow in most climates. It doesn’t require a lot of water, likes full sun and well drained soil. It will form fairly large bushes that can easily be made into a hedge. It is also a great companion plant. Harvest lavender as it blooms throughout the summer, and prune back by about a third each fall. There are multiple lavender varieties to choose from, such as English, French, Grosso, and Provence.
Here are some great posts on growing lavender:
- How to Grow, Harvest, and Dry Lavender from Timber Creek Farm
- How to Grow Lavender in Zone 3 (for those of you in colder climates) from Joybilee Farm
Lavender is Beautiful
Besides being easy to grow, lavender is also beautiful! It is a lovely plant to have around, in your backyard or your front yard. I love how it looks, it’s great as a border or walkway plant, and will cheer up any outdoor space that it’s planted in. Just walking by my lavender plants makes me happy!
Lavender is Good for Bees (and other pollinators)
If you’ve ever been around when lavender is blooming, you know how well it attracts bees! The place we lived in last summer had a lavender hedge, and it would be literally swarming with both honeybees and bumblebees. In a time when bees are in decline, this is a good thing! Besides bees, it also attracts butterflies, hoverflies, and other beneficial insects.
Lavender Repels Bad Bugs
Just like mint, lavender also repels the bugs that you don’t want around. What a great two for one deal! It keeps mosquitoes, flies, and moths at bay, and is a common ingredient in natural and homemade bug sprays. It even repels fleas and ticks, making it great to have around your furry friends.
Lavender Makes Tasty Food
This is one of my favorite reasons for growing lavender… It makes super tasty treats! I especially love the combination of lemon and lavender in Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies or this amazing looking lemon lavender loaf cake. I made a lavender whipped cream for my plum and lemon upside down cake that was to die for. You can also make lavender infused honey or lavender infused sugar. It can even be made into jams and jellies!
Here are some other lavender treats for inspiration:
- Lavender Bundt Cake from Homespun Seasonal Living
- Lavender Shortbread from Mountain Mama Cooks
- Blueberry Lavender Jam from Nitty Gritty Life
Lavender Makes Tasty Drinks
Lavender is also well known for making amazing drinks, boozy or not. I love a good lavender lemonade (there’s that lemon lavender combo again), and lavender tea is also very nice. I include lavender in both my herbal water kefir soda recipe and my wildflower mead recipe. It’s often made into a simple syrup and used in cocktail recipes as well.
Here are some more great lavender drink recipes:
- Lusting After Lavender and Rose (Gin Cocktail recipe) from Rooted Revival
- Lavender Leaf Lemonade from Gather Victoria
- Lavender Lemonade Mojitos from We Are Not Martha
Lavender is Medicinal
Lavender is an amazing medicinal plant. It’s lovely scent is calming and relaxing for the mind. It is also anti-septic and anti-inflammatory, making it a great addition to an herbal salve. It is known for helping to heal burn and bug bites. Lavender infused oil is something that I always have on hand.
Lavender is Good for Bath and Body Products
Lavender is Good for Bath and Body ProductsLavender is also great for use in bath and body products, like this homemade lavender soap from The Nerdy Farm Wife. It is commonly used in skin care items like body scrubs, bath salts, lotions, creams, and Vanilla Lavender Lip Balm. Because of its soothing nature and wonderful scent, it’s a good candidate for any natural and homemade beauty and bath products.
Lavender is Good for Craft Projects
Feel like getting crafty? Lavender is the perfect flower for you! You can use it fresh or dry it for many different craft projects. Use freshly cut lavender to make a lavender wand, wreath, or crown. Dried lavender can be made into a soothing sleeping pillow, used as potpourri, or added when candle making. There are many possibilities!
Lavender Can be Used in Cleaning and Home Products
Lavender, particularly lavender essential oil, is a common ingredient in home cleaning products. Add it to your homemade laundry soap or cleaning products. Because of its antibacterial properties it is an obvious choice here!
I hope that this inspires you to grow some lavender! If you don’t have any lavender growing, but still want to enjoy its benefits, you can purchase dried lavender from Mountain Rose Herbs (my favorite place to buy high quality, organic herbs).
Here a just a couple more posts on ways to use lavender:
- Drying and Using Lavender from Homespun Seasonal Living
- Let’s Talk About Lavender from Pixie’s Pocket
What is your favorite way to use lavender?
I recently purchased a lavender plant. (not sure what variety) but I wanted to ask you how I could or even if I should harvest any of it yet (as it doesn’t have blooms yet) without damaging the plant?
Hi Jerri. Early spring, after the buds form, but have not opened yet, is the best time to harvest lavender.
I’ve noticed my high blood pressure fall with wearing lavender mist in my hair or as perfume… is there any research on this… is too much equal to too low? Slowing metabolism etc…
Lavender is known for having a calming and relaxing effect, so that could be it, but I don’t know of any research that has been done on this specifically.
What lavender is best for what?
Most lavender varieties have similar uses and are interchangeable, although some are better for food use than others. It’s best to research the variety that you have to find out more.
Hi Colleen, I want you to know how informative your articles are, very easy to follow. I’ve read recently that lavender is toxic for dogs and cats. They say it can affect there respiratory system. How do you use it for fleas and ticks on dogs?
Toxicity only occurs when dogs eat large quantities of it. You can infuse water with fresh lavender and spray it on your pet’s fur to repel fleas.
I grew lavender for the first time from seeds and it grew rather larger, so I split it up and I moved it around our deck and I love it,,,,
That’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Some old west mountain man books I’ve been reading have them learning from natives about esti g lavender roots.
I can’t find anything about this. Info, please?
I’m trying to get lavender started in my garden.
Thank you Colleen for this Awesome article! I grow lavender, and I’ve made flower essence, lavender/rose wine, and a facial lotion and balm using the flower essence as a base ingredient. I keep learning new things about lavender, almost like the unfolding of the flower itself. … and your ideas about syrups and jellies are simply Marvelous! Remember Duchess Katherine calmed her tummy during pregnancy with lavender cookies? I believe the woman who sold purple in the bible must have been working with lavender, because oil of spike is made from lavender, the leaves – I suppose. I simply Love lavender! I’d love to create a line of products from my concoctions… :) Thanks again for this Awesome Inspiring article! I’m looking forward to your newsletters.
Can I use Spanish/French Lavender for this and other recipes?
Thank you for the fine article. There is a shortage of gardening information for zones 3 and down. I too live in a BC zone 3.
I am planning a significant lavender installation for next spring. I love the 10 reasons you’ve listed! The easy care is a big motivation for me, and then there’s the fact that deer do not eat lavender. But, it’s the culinary qualities and bee attraction that really has me motivated. Wondering what varieties you are working with?
I am very interested in growing lavender, thus far I have not located any seeds, do I have to purchase plants, this is very expensive for me as I want to cover 3 acres with lavender. thanks for your help. cindy
Cindy, fortunately, lavender propagates easily in the winter from cuttings. …and you get tons of seeds from a single plant after flower. You can harvest some of the plant while the flowers are vibrant purple and then save some stalks to give you seeds. Those older flowers will still be plenty fragrant too! Have Fun!
I love my Lavender plants, (I’m in Norfolk, UK) I have 2 huge (20+ yrs old) with another 2 younger plants in my back yard/garden & another younger 4 in my front garden. Most Lavender plants not only like well drained soil but they’re drought loving too!! Which comes in handy if you get several weeks without any rain & don’t want to/can’t use water that comes into your home. I’m always getting asked for dried Lavender from friends & family. Not tried cooking/drinking with it or other stuff yet though!
How long does a new plant to produce flowers?, thanks
I’ve had very small young plants produce flowers, you may only get a few flowers per plant in the first couple of years.
I have planted them in October and in the next June they were full with flowers.
Is Lavender soap difficult to make? Is there a recipe for Lavender ice cream?
I have never made lavender soap, but Jan Berry has a recipe for it in her Natural Soap Making eBook. Lavender ice cream sounds amazing, I’d love to find a recipe for that!
Apparently it also discourages kangaroos if this is a problem.