Growing your own lavender is a great way to enjoy its wonderful aroma and get the most out of its many uses. And lavender has to be pruned every once in a while to encourage more flowering! So what are some uses for fresh lavender rather than just throwing those pruned pieces in the compost pile?
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There are so many ways for how to use fresh lavender. Lavender is one of my favorite scents so I’m loathe to throw any of the cuttings away.
From using it in culinary recipes to making herbal remedies to creating beautiful decorations in your home, fresh homegrown lavender can provide a variety of uses and is a great way to bring the scent of summer into your home. Keep reading for 5 ideas for what to do with fresh lavender (and some ideas on dry lavender too)!
How To Use Fresh Lavender: 5 Ideas
While you’re more likely to see dry lavender or lavender flowers for sale, there’s nothing saying you can’t use the fresh lavender! It works great in dishes, tea, aromatherapy, and decorations. No matter what kind of lavender you’re growing or how much you have to spare, there’s always a way to use it!
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Using Fresh Lavender in Cooking and Baking
One of the most popular ways to use fresh lavender is in cooking and baking. Lavender has a very subtle flavor that works well with sweet treats like cookies, cakes, and pastries. It’s also great for infusing oils for salad dressings. You can also use it as an herb on meats and in other dishes like you would rosemary!
Just be sure that when using lavender in food to 1. not overpower the dish with lavender, or it can take on a soapy flavor and 2. that you choose English Lavender. Other varieties (like Spanish and French) will be much more bitter and not have the desired flavor attained.
Make Tea With Fresh Lavender
Making tea with fresh lavender is a great way to bring its calming and soothing properties into your day. Simply pick the flowers off of their stems, steep them in boiling water for 5-10 minutes, and enjoy! You can also add honey or lemon juice for additional flavor. Again, choose English lavender for this, or else you’ll get a different flavor than you’re expecting.
Bonus tip – add lavender flowers to other teas as well, like adding some to black tea will give it a gentle floral aroma.
You may also be interested in: Grow your own herbal tea
Use Fresh Lavender For Aromatherapy and Relaxation
Another great way to use fresh lavender is to add some full stems, flowers leaves and all into your bath. This will create a relaxing atmosphere while appreciating the fact that this lavender was cut fresh from your garden.
You can also put a bundle of lavender in your shower to have a similar effect when the steam hits it, helping release the calming scent of lavender.
For this, you can use any type of lavender you have growing, it doesn’t matter!
Use Fresh Lavender for Decoration
Another way to use fresh lavender cut from your garden is to use it as decoration. Lavender is a beautiful flower, so why not put cuttings in water and treat it as any other cut flower in your home?
Make a Lavender Wreath
Or you can make a lavender wreath to hang on your door -Make small bundles of lavender and tie them together in a circle stems inside and leaves on the outside (you can create a base out of a paper plate or something similar). Then put this wreath up as decoration in your home! It will dry out after a few weeks of hanging, which will leave you with a beautiful reminder of your summer garden.
Drying Lavender For Even More Uses
Lavender is one of the most simple herbs to dry. So if you’re looking for other uses for your lavender or to prolong the flowers and leaves, try wrapping a bundle of lavender by the stems in string and hanging this upside down for about 2 weeks!
Once you’ve got dried lavender, create your own lavender oil, lavender tincture (in a similar manner as vanilla extract), use it in a sage bundle, make soap with the lavender flowers, decorate candles with pressed lavender, and so many more ideas on what to do with dried lavender straight from your garden.
Uses For Fresh Lavender: In Summary
These are just some of the many uses for fresh lavender. Whether you use it for decoration, aromatherapy, cooking or just to enjoy the beautiful smell of summer in your home, lavender has so many uses and can be a great way to appreciate the beauty of your garden! So go ahead and get creative with fresh lavender cut straight out of your garden. Enjoy!
