Lavender

[pottergal]

I planted lavender last year and they got pretty ugly looking toward the middle of the winter. Now it is spring and the one is looking gorgeous. Its full and luscious but the other only has some small growth starting at the very bottom of the stems. The tops of the stems still look dead and ugly.

My question is...do I clip the dead stuff off the ugly plant or just wait to see what continues to grow up the stems?

Thank you.
Jenn

 

[Alix]

I'd trim it off, but you might want to wait for a more experienced gardener. LOL!!

 

[ChefJune]

Yes. cut off the dry, gray branches and let the fresh green come through. It will be beautiful. Mine is already!

 

[FutbolMom]

What do you do with the lavendar? I saw some plants a the nursery but wasn't sure what I would use it for.

 

[jkath]

FutbolMom, there are so many uses! I love my lavender I planted last spring. I did three varieties, so there would be different purples and greens. First use is the most obvious - great bouquets to fill your home with scent. Then, you can dry them and keep all the little purple flowers for various uses, such as filling sachets, keeping out like potpourri (I have a big ironstone bowl of it out right now), or using for your cooking. Make sure you don't spray any pesticides!
Another use is a birdfeeder - there are tiny yellow birds that frequent my lavender heads, now that they've gone to seed. I started deadheading the plants till I saw many of the little fellows having meals. Now, I'll wait a while longer.

Here's some more info for you:
Lavender, Lavender Flower, Cooking with Lavender, Lavender Recipes, Culinary Lavender

 

[ChefJune]

Yes, trim off the dry gray leaves. The plant will come back to life. Mine has about 15-trillion buds on it right now. I think it's waiting for the first hot day to bust into bloom!

I love the flowers for making Lavender Caramel Ice Cream (page 169 in "the book"!) and I use the greens the same way I use rosemary.

 

[Loprraine]

I would trim it also. Mine did not survive the winter, again. When I do have some, and am feeling ambitious, I make my own Herbes de Provence.

 

[ChefJune]

Fresh herbes des Provence are incredibly lovely and reek of summer!

 

[flukx]

If you take a bath, put lavender in the water. Supposed to have a calming effect.

 

[Satsuma]

Make soap with it!! :P

Seriously, lavender buds make the best exfoliant ever. Nice and gentle, but still scrubby.

 

[jkath]

Has anyone made tea with their lavender? There's a really nice lavender madelaine recipe around here somewhere - I think it was originally posted by kansasgirl. I'll take a look and see if I can find it.

 

[jkath]

Here it is, post #9
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f43/madelaine-recipe-anyone-6628.html

 

[ChefJune]

Thanks! I have a huge crop of lavender flowers right now, and it would be great to try that! I love madeleines.

 

[suziquzie]

I have a recipe I printed off a million years ago for Lavender ice cream....
I've always meant to try it but haven't got any lavender seeds to start successfully until this year..... if it lives after I put the plant outside hopefully I can finally try making it!
If not I'll have to break down and buy a plant.

 

[ChefJune]

Lavender Caramel Ice Cream

Lavender Caramel Ice Cream recipe

 

[Michael in FtW]

Please Read

The Gardening Forum is for hints, tips, tricks and other information and answers to questions about growing edible things in our gardens. It is not a place to post recipes.

Please post recipes in the appropriate recipe forum and link to it here if you wish. For example ... lavender tea would go in the non-alcoholic beverages forum, lavender ice cream should go in the frozen desserts forum, etc.

This will make sure that your recipes are seen by people looking for something under that catagory, and people looking for gardening information don't get bogged down in having to scroll past recipes.

Thanks!

 

[*amy*]

Here's a link to a Thread you might find useful.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f132/iso-lavender-info-44995.html

(K'elf, still waiting for the Lavender martooni recipe )

 

[ChefJune]

The Gardening Forum is for hints, tips, tricks and other information and answers to questions about growing edible things in our gardens. It is not a place to post recipes.

Please post recipes in the appropriate recipe forum and link to it here if you wish. For example ... lavender tea would go in the non-alcoholic beverages forum, lavender ice cream should go in the frozen desserts forum, etc.

This will make sure that your recipes are seen by people looking for something under that catagory, and people looking for gardening information don't get bogged down in having to scroll past recipes.

Thanks!

I think we all understand that, however, those recipes are pertinent to lavender, and to why someone might decide they wanted to grow it. I think the recipes belong here, for that reason.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I think we all understand that, however, those recipes are pertinent to lavender, and to why someone might decide they wanted to grow it. I think the recipes belong here, for that reason.

Well, in that vein of thinking - then recipes for tomato sauce, tomato soup, etoufee, shrimp creole, tomato and okra gumbo, breaded-stewed tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, stuffed tomatoes, etc. would also fit here - under, "Tomatoes" ???

 

[Barbara L]

You could post the recipes using lavender in the appropriate forums and post a link to them here.

Barbara