1. More Than Just a Pretty Color
Lavender is a flowering herb in the mint family. It is native to the Mediterranean and often linked to the lavender fields of France. For centuries, people have used lavender for its wonderful aroma and medicinal properties, such as easing stress and anxiety. Use lavender's dry flowering buds in lavender teas and with other herbs for bath and cleaning products. You can also find lavender plants used in landscaping in most southern climates, for purely decorative purposes.
2. Relax With Healing Lavender
Lavender is one of the basics ingredients for anyone who enjoys working with essential oils. Lavender is antibacterial, anticholesterol, antifungal and antimicrobial. It is great to have in your first aid kit for wounds and burns. When you have a small scrap or cut, add one drop of lavender neat before putting on an adhesive bandage. Lavender also creates a calming effect for headaches and insomnia. A few drops on a pillow helps you sleep.
3. Dried Lavender Graces Many Places
You can find dried lavender in potpourri, of course, but there are many other places you find these little dried flowers. Mix dried lavender with flax seeds and you have the makings of an eye pillow. Use lavender with rice and fill a white tube sock to create a neck pillow. For a warm neck wrap, place the neck pillow in the microwave for a few seconds. You can make bath teas with dried lavender flowers, mixed with other herbs of your choice. Place lavender in a muslin bag and add to your bath. Grind lavender in a spice grinder with baking soda and use this combination to freshen your carpet.
4. Bask in the Floral Tones
Many perfumes and body products are scented with lavender. It has a floral scent with a small, woody undertone that is used in many lotions, soaps and perfumes. Lavender blends well with other essential oils, too. Try blending it with citrus oils, clary sage or rosemary.
5. Invite Lavender to Dinner
If you buy culinary lavender buds, you can use them in your cooking. It does have a very strong flavor, so remember a little goes a long way. Lavender sugar was popular in Victorian times, and you can create it by adding lavender to sugar and leaving it in a sealed container for a few weeks. You can use this sugar for teas or for baking. You can also grind lavender and add to breads, desserts, or to any recipe you think could use some extra flavor.
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