Lavender: the flower that smells like summer

What it means to give lavender

Lavender is associated with calm, serenity and devotion. Its relaxing scent makes it a gift that wishes someone well-being, and its purple color also conveys elegance and gratitude.

Its name is linked to the Latin lavare, to wash: the Greeks and Romans added it to bathwater and clean laundry, a custom that lives on in lavender sachets for closets.

When it is in season

Lavender blooms in high summer:

• Spain: June, July.
• Mexico and Central America: out of local season (greenhouse-grown or imported).
• Argentina, Chile and Uruguay: January, November, December.

In Spain, the fields of Brihuega (Guadalajara) hold their lavender festival in July, and in France Provence turns purple between late June and early August. Outside those weeks, lavender is mostly found dried.

When to give lavender

• Purple flowers on November 9: dried lavender is an alternative to violets for your “purple person”.
• To say thank you: a small bunch with a note is an inexpensive gift that lasts.
• Summer weddings: in centerpieces, rustic bridal bouquets or in sachets as favors for guests.
• For someone who is stressed: a dried bouquet by the bed or on the desk.

How to make a dried lavender bouquet

1. Cut it at the right moment: when half the florets on the spike are open. If you wait for all of them to open, it will shed as it dries.
2. Make small bunches of 20 or 30 stems and tie them with a rubber band, which tightens as the stems shrink.
3. Hang them upside down in a dark, dry, airy place for two to three weeks. Darkness keeps the color.
4. To revive the scent, gently rub the spikes between your fingers.

If you give it fresh

Fresh lavender lasts 5 to 7 days in a vase. Give it a little water, not covering much of the stem, and keep it somewhere cool. If you let it dry in the same vase without water, you will end up with a dried bouquet without doing anything else.

Types of lavender

Not all lavenders are the same. The three you will see most are:

• English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): the sweetest, most delicate scent, the best for drying and for sachets.
• Lavandin (Lavandula × intermedia): a bigger, more productive hybrid. It makes up most cultivated fields, including those in Brihuega, and yields the most essential oil.
• Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas): wild in the Spanish countryside, with a purple tuft at the tip of the spike. It blooms earlier, in spring.

Frequently asked questions

What does it mean to give lavender?

Calm, serenity and devotion. It is also given to say thank you and, because of its scent, as a wish for rest and well-being.

When does lavender bloom?

In Spain, from late June to late July. The fields of Brihuega (Guadalajara) are usually at their best in the first half of July. In the southern hemisphere it blooms between November and January.

How do you dry lavender?

Cut it when half the flowers on the spike are open, make small bunches tied with a rubber band and hang them upside down in a dark, dry, ventilated place for two or three weeks.

Does lavender work for November 9?

Yes. It is one of the purple flowers given to your “purple person” on November 9, along with violets and lisianthus. In November you will find it dried or greenhouse-grown.

Is lavender toxic to cats and dogs?

It contains essential oils that can upset cats and dogs if they eat a lot of it. A dried bouquet out of their reach is not usually a problem.