Growing Your Own Lavender: Everything You Need to Know

Why Grow Lavender?

It's not a coincidence that my website is called "French Lavender Lifestyle". I love lavender. It's a beautiful shade of purple and smells like taking a deep breath, instantly calming you. It also evokes that idea of incredible purple fields of Provence, where life is lived to be enjoyed. It's a slower pace of life that focuses on seasonal produce, taking time for friends and family, and enjoying each moment. I mean of course even people in Provence have their problems just like us, but I'm sure the wine and delicious food help curb some of the difficulties of life.

So in my effort to help you create a home that is calm and peaceful, even when everything around us feels chaotic, I implore you to grow just a little bunch of lavender. Depending on where you live it might actually be easiest to grow in a small container like I do. I live in the midwest and my soil is very loamy and great for growing flowers like peonies, hollyhocks, and things like that, but not for lavender. So let's get into how to grow some amazing lavender flowers.

What You Need to Grow Lavender

When growing any flower or vegetable you first have to start with the soil. Lavender grows in the fields of Provence, in very dry aired soil. It's well draining, and full of rocks, thus the great drainage. So one of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to grow lavender is planting it with all of their other flowers in their very dense "miracle-gro"-esque soil. Lavender will not love you or that soil. It wants soil that looks like nothing could ever want to grow in it. Think basically dessert sand with some rocks. It's used to intense sunshine in Provence with soil that is not full of your typical nutrients like we think of for all of our other gardening.

So, now that you're completely confused about this incredibly weird plant that is lavender let's give you some concrete direction. Grab any size planter pot that you want and your lavender plant from the store and let's get started!

When creating the soil combination you'll need to nourish your new friend you can do a few things. I just used regular top soil, some sand and some grit (aka tiny rocks) to create my soil combination and I've seen great results. If you're looking for something a little more sophisticated you can get some soil that's meant for succulents and add some grit to that. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that lavender needs good drainage. Heavy dark soil will retain moisture and unfortunately kill your lovely little plant.

Armed with the correct soil combination and your newly planted lavender where do you put it? Lavender thrives in full sun. So the more sun you can give it the better. Typically southern exposure will guarantee you the most sun, but of course there are always exceptions. Like at my house my southern exposure is completely shaded from all of my neighbor's trees. So my lavender lives in a little planter pot on my eastern facing patio but gets sunshine from sunrise until about 1-2pm in the summer. Plus, I have a paver patio so the pavers retain heat from the day and transfer that to the lavender.

How to Preserve Your Lavender

Preserving your lavender is very simple compared to the mental shift you have to do when growing it. Simply cut your lavender throughout the summer, late in the summer is typically best. Remember that in Provence, lavender harvest is typically in July. Once you've cut your lavender, tie it together with string or twine and hang upside down in a cool, dry environment. And within a few weeks you'll have perfect dried lavender.

You can make lavender satchels to place in your dresser drawers for a little sophistication. You can make lavender soap, which is incredibly fun! Melt and pour soap making is very fun and simple. I've made cold process soap before and it comes with a lot of potential issues just because you're working with lye, which is rather hazardous. So if you're just delving into soap making, stick to the melt and pour for now and then build up your confidence as you go would be my advice.

The possibilities with lavender are endless. Linen spray, essential oil, candles, bath salts, the list goes on and on. That's the beauty of it, your own personal lavender field can become whatever brings you joy. That's what this is all about. Creating a space that's your own that provides a respite from the stresses of day to day life.