Lavender Farm – 24 Super Interesting Facts

Imagine a sight of a huge Lavender Farm spread across and as wide, as long as your eyes can see. That purple paradise!

Lavender is one of 47 members of the mint family. There hardly might be anyone who doesn’t like lavender or its smell. It is known for its medicinal properties.

Lavender is an essential oil for skincare, haircare, headache, stomachache, and externally and internally. It is used in food as well in the essence form for its beautiful aroma.

Beautiful and reasonably simple to grow is lavender. All you need are the proper growing conditions and a little more area. Pick your own herb from the farm shop, is an option.

Different cakes and pastries taste good in lavender flavour. Although many of us are fans of that lilac, purple-coloured lavender, you can find different lavender species with different colour shades, even pinks, and whites!

History and Origin of Lavender

Lavender originated from the Mediterranean, India, and the Middle East. The history of lavender is believed to be around 2500 years old.

Lavender was known as ‘Nardus’ among the Greeks, derived from a Syrian city, ‘Naarda,’ and was usually known as Nard by the common people.

Lavender was considered one of the sacred plants or herbs, handy in making the Holy Essence. We find the mention of ‘Nard’ or ‘Spikenard’ in the ‘Song of Solomon’ (Bible).

Lavender has its name from the Latin word ‘lavare,’ which means “to clean or wash.”

The Romans used lavender in their bathing water to offer beautiful, floral fragrances, in beds for a refreshing environment, in clothes as perfumes, and in hair as floral ornaments. Romans also came across the remedial & therapeutic properties of lavender.

Currently, lavender is being produced and grown around its birthplace in Australia, North and South America, Europe, New Zealand, and many other places.

Its extensive cultivations are justifiable as it has multiple uses and benefits, and it’s a profitable crop.

Benefits 

Here are some benefits of Lavender.

1. Curative/Remedial Uses

Lavender cultivation is mainly mercantile for the essential oils extracted from its flowers and leaves, which is done through distillation.

Lavender oil is useful as an antiseptic, disinfectant, and anti-inflammatory solution. It is used in aromatherapy as well.

An admixture of lavender is beneficial in healing insect bites, soporific, minor cuts, sunburns, and erythrogenic conditions such as acne, pimples, and other skin-related problems.

Lavender oil can be taken internally, mainly beneficial for a good stomach, pyrosis, and dyspepsia. People who are prone to acidity can use lavender oil to cure it naturally.

It also relieves headaches, migraines, and motion sickness when applied and massages on the head’s temple.

Lavender essential oil is used in spas and massage centers as a soothing agent, helping to relax and get a peaceful sleep.

Shrivelled lavender flowers are widely used in tiny sachets (like teabags) as aromatic, herbal fresheners inside folded clothes, linens, and closets.

They are also used for adorning weddings or other functions—gifts and confetti. Lavender-scented air sprays are used to refresh the atmosphere.

2. Comestible Uses

As lavender is a member of the mint family, it’s been used for hundreds of years to make food items either directly or as an additive known as Herb’s de Province (an amalgamation that seizes the savour of the sunlit south of France).

Lavender is used in soups, salads, desserts, meat and seafood, bakery and cheese, and other confectionaries as it gives a mild, floral, sweet flavour and aroma.

The buds and lavender flowers contain the most essence, from where the flavor and fragrance are derived. However, dried lavender leaves are also used with flowers in cooking.

3. Medical Uses

According to research, it might be helpful for treating

• anxiety
• restlessness
• depression
• sleeplessness

According to several research, drinking lavender tea can relieve digestive problems such as

• nausea
• intestinal gas
• upset stomach
• abdominal puffiness

It is probably safe to consume lavender in the quantities that are normally seen in food. The use of lavender for anxiety or other problems for a brief period of time orally may also be safe in the doses examined. Some people may get allergic skin reactions while using topical lavender treatments.

Similar to rosemary and thyme, lavender is a herb that can be eaten in a wide variety of foods, beverages, and sides. There are many lavender recipes. It can be paired with chicken, turkey, lamb, and fatty fish like salmon or tuna.

Lavender is a very adaptable plant that is popular for its relaxing effects in aromatherapy. Additionally, it is known to deter insects and has antiseptic qualities. It is primarily admired for its beauty and enduring scent.

Interesting Facts about Lavender

These tiny sticks, containing six to eight flowers bunched in, lavender come with an old history and many interesting facts. Here are some:

1. Lavender flourishes in dry, bright weather in well-seeped soil. These plants need less to no plant food (fertilizers or manure).
2.  Lavender attracts bumblebees. Which makes them flock to the lavender farms and increase the amount of honey they make.
3.  It is believed that the Romans brought lavender to Britain. They used it differently, from baths, spas, and massages to burning it as incense. According to historians, a pound of lavender was equal to the monthly wage in Rome.
4. Queen Elizabeth first loved lavender. She used to preserve lavender flowers (sugar extracted from the lavender flowers).
5. Lavender never goes through autumn falls. Its leaves are always green throughout the year.
6.  The lavender flowers symbolize Provence (it’s an ancient South-East France area on the Mediterranean Sea). It is a native of the southern part of France and several Canary Islands.
7.  When the lavender plant reaches maturity, it can live without water.
8. Egyptians used  Lavender in the process of mummification.
9. The Greeks used lavender to treat insomnia and backache.
10. During the Bubonic plague in the seventeenth century, lavender was used to avoid diseases.
11. The Shakers were the first to harvest lavender successfully and enough to export it to the global market.
12. Lavender is extremely helpful for the problem of bugs and insects. It also saves neighbouring plants from crawling pests and bugs.
13.  Lavender is a kind of mint.
14. Queen Victoria was a lavender lover. She liked all of her furniture cleaned with lavender-based cleaners. Even her favourite tea was the lavender-infused one, which helped her stomach to comfort.
15. In the sixteenth century, most of England used lavender to freshen the toilets, bathrooms, and laundries. Lavender was filled inside the mattresses and sewn as it was believed to help prevent bedbugs.
16. In the sixteenth century, when the Black plague had hit London, alcohol and lavender oil were consumed to prevent the disease. Bundles of lavender flowers were peddled on the streets to get rid of the smell of both the dead and dying people.
17. Oil extracted from lavender, also known as a lavender essential oil, was used to cure the men at arms during World War II.
18.  Take a few drops of lavender essential oil on a cube of sugar. It is remedial for headaches.
19.  In the thirteenth century, Europeans used to wear lavender bracelets to keep themselves safe against the plague and other harmful diseases.
20. In the renaissance, lavender was used in art. Artists, including the famous painter Rubens, used lavender to improve their paintings’ colour quality and tint. It also gave a mild scent to the paintings.
21. Lavender comes in 39 species with around 400 types of variety around the globe. Lavender is widely associated with its colour, mainly considered as shades of purple and blue, but it can be white, pink, and even green.
22. Not just for humans, but lavender can be used for your pets, like dogs, just like you use it as an antiseptic, bug repellent, arthritis, and much more.
23.  Ever wondered why lavender essential oil is more expensive than others? Well, around 27 square feet of lavender harvest produce as little as 15 millilitres of lavender oil!
24. There are two types of lavender oil. Essential and vitality. Vitality oil does not differ from essential oil; it is 100% pure and made for internal use. You can use it while cooking fresh drinks, smoothies, and shakes.

Famous Lavender Farms Around the World  

Want to know about famous lavender farms from around the world? Here is a list!

1. Bridestowe Lavender Estate

The biggest privatized lavender farm in the world is the Bridestowe lavender farm in Tasmania of Australia. It is spread over 260 acres of land.

Bridestowe lavender farm is a famous tourist attraction. This lavender farm is best visited between December and January to witness the lavender’s glorious bloom in the vast fields. However, visitors are allowed throughout the year.

2. Lavanda di Elvio

La Lavanda di Elvio, in Riola Sardo, is the first lavender farm in Sardinia. Founded in 2003, La Lavanda di Elvio’s popularity spread widely in 2015, when a local Instagram community came across it.

The best time to visit La Lavanda di Elvio’s lavender farm is in June when the lavender field blossoms with flowers. If you visit in the afternoon, chances are you can witness one of the most beautiful sunsets of your life.

3. Luber Lavender Fields, Provence, France

Provence is native to lavender farming and owns many of the same, but the Luberon Lavender farms have the widest variety.

Here, you’ll see hilltop villages that are flawlessly set in the frames of lavender farms, tiny lavender fields in front of old farmhouses, lavender farms accentuated by olive trees, and restored windmills, which are genuinely eye candy.

4. Valensole, Provence, France

Valensole is a region having tons of lavender farms surrounding the hills. Its beauty can be best seen in the summer. Valensole is a plateau that is entirely dedicated to lavender harvesting.

The plateau is around 800 square kilometres. The town is quite interesting too, with all those medieval architectures and shops that offer various lavender products ranging from perfumes, essential oils, and soaps to lavender-flavoured food and snacks.

The best time to visit Valensole lavender farm is June to July when the blossom is at its peak.

5. Snowhill Lavender Farm, Cotswolds, England

Snowhill Lavender farms, stretching across England’s countryside, are among the best locations to visit in the Cotswolds.

You can visit the lavender farm early in the mornings as it is free from the crowd then.

The Snowhill lavender farm is open from June to September, although the best time to visit the farms is in July when the field turns into different shades of purple.

Snowhill Lavender Farm is located in the Cotswolds, with views of Broadway and the Vale of Evesham. This family-run enterprise, which doubles as a tourist destination, tends after the lovely fields that contain more than 35 distinct kinds of lavender.

This serene setting is a wonderful opportunity for a great day out while the lavender is in full bloom. You can appreciate various sorts of lavenders in unexpected pink, violet, and purple hues here.

You can make out a wildflower field teeming with bustling bees among the lavender. The surrounding area had a storybook look as other lavender fields could be seen in the distance.

Located in the picturesque rolling hills of Creemore, Ontario, a real gem the family has inhabited for more than 30 years, Purple Hill Lavender Farm is a tiny, family-run lavender farm, similar to Snowhill Lavender Farm. The desire to construct something from the ground up and spend more time outside, in the dirt, at our favourite spot evolved out of our passion for the plant and our ambition to build lavender farms.

6. Mt. Shasta Lavender Farms, Montague, California, USA

Mt. Shasta Lavender Farms offer a magnificent view of long rows of lavenders, imposed by the huge mount Shasta, one of California’s tallest peaks.

Two different varieties of lavender are grown in Mt. Shasta Lavender Farms in Mount Shasta City, California, twenty minutes to the north, on a sunny slope at a height of 3500 feet.

The farm now welcomes guests to cut lavender and take in the breathtaking views on a seasonal and by-appointment basis.

Their deep well of naturally carbonated water, which has the same pH as rainwater, is used to water their lavender. It flourishes on volcanic soil that is well-drained and has a full southwest exposure.

The farm is open daily for visitors from June to August. The interesting thing is, you can pick lavender for yourself if you want to.

7. Mayfield Lavender, Banstead, United Kingdom

Less than 13 miles from central London, Mayfield Lavender farm is a private field available for different purposes like family picnics, wedding or casual photoshoots, and so on.

Take a journey that is unique! During the opening season, a lovely and easy way to explore the undulating purple expanse of their gorgeous organic lavender is to take a tractor ride around the farm on the lavender train, Looby Loo.

You will be able to observe their three different lavender cultivars in bloom during the height of the season, together with our ecstatic bees and butterflies.

You may enjoy a magnificent view of the farm from the shop and cafe, which are close to the lavender. Although there are no steps to navigate, our parking lot’s coarse stone surface requires caution when strolling.

They also organize a lavender festival in the mid of July, comprising tractor rides, hog roast, and Morris dancers.

You can check when it is open; the best time is, of course, at the time of blossom when the lavender farm fills with ecstatic colour and aroma.

8. Blues Dreamland, Beijing, China

Lavender is linked with romance in China. To grab the commercial scope, the Blues Dreamland theme park cultivated lavender over 20 hectares (49.42 acres) and has been a sight worth watching since then for worldwide visitors and China lovers.

As it is a theme park, it is open throughout the year. Still, it is especially crowded at the beginning of August. When the Chinese version of Valentine’s, Qixi is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month (as Chinese people follow their traditional lunar calendar.)

9. Hvar, Croatia

Hvar is an island in Croatia in the Adriatic Sea. On Hvar, lavender is mostly grown wildly, around the hills, surrounded by the disintegrated stone walls and the crystal clear ocean (Adriatic Sea).

Many lavender plants from the island were burnt in a wildfire, but you can still see plenty of plants on the old road, which falls between Hvar to Grable.

The locals of Hvar island make lavender oil with their traditional formula. The harvest falls in July. So beware if someone offers you Lavender Tour in the summer.

Last Words

Lavender isn’t just a multipurpose herb, but it is highly symbolic too. Lavender is mostly linked to grace, salubrity, serenity, purity, tranquillity, and sanctity.

Its sweet, mild fragrance helps your mind attain peace and focus better. It is so relieving that no matter how stressed you are, have a hot bath with lavender-infused water; you’ll sleep like a baby.

If you aren’t habitual to using oils, you can use essential lavender rolls for aching joints and muscles and lowering your stress and anxiety.

Due to its calming properties, lavender is used in face washes, shampoos, creams, lotions, and other cosmetics or body care products.

Among the wide variety of essential oils, lavender has primary importance. Now that you know how useful it is to start using lavender in your daily routine for a holistic change in your lifestyle.

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Last Updated on April 9, 2024 by riyaspeaks