Spring time is just around the corner, so we thought we'd share with you one of our favorite flowers, Lavender. Both as a flower and a color, Lavender has a calming affect on anyone who is lucky enough to experience it. There are hundreds of uses for this beautiful flower. You can eat it, you can wear it, you can decorate with it. That's why we have found some of our favorite ways you can use Lavender. The possibilities are endless with this versatile plant and since it is so resilient, it can be grown either indoor or outdoor.
Grow Your Own Lavender
Lavender blooms in the summer time, which means it is perfect to start growing your lavender plants in the spring. For tips on growing your Lavender outdoor, we've found this guide by the Spruce called "Growing Lavender". Lavender thrives in sunny dry areas, so if you happen to live somewhere humid, wet, or cold and fear your plants may not survive, you can try growing your Lavender indoor. For tips on growing lavender indoor, try reading this "Growing Lavender Indoors" article from HGTV. Although the flowers may not end up as large or exactly the color you want them to be, their fragrance is still beautiful and they can act as a very lovely and unique accent piece.
For Your Home
Lavender is famous for its beautiful fragrance, which is known to significantly reduce anxiety and emotional stress. Many people use this fragrance to soothe headaches, improve brain function, or to fall asleep. However, dry lavender plants have a limited fragrance which is often not strong enough to fill a room or to have a lasting effect. That's why we have found some creative ways you can boost Lavender's fragrance to improve its effectiveness.
Lavender Candles
Lavender Candles from Town and Country Living
While dried lavender may not be strong enough to fill the room with the beautiful aroma of Lavender, these candles might! Made with candle wax, lavender essential oil, candle wicks, and candle dye, this easy DIY by Town and Country Living will have your home filled with the relaxing scent of Lavender. Don't feel like making your own candles or worried you might ruin one of your pots melting wax? No worries! You could always just purchase lavender candles like these ones from Yankee candle.
Lavender Dryer Sachets
Lavender Dryer Sachets from Town and Country Living
Here is another way to fill your home with the fragrance of Lavender. This project, also from Town and Country Living (If you love lavender, you should really check out this blog. Jennifer has so many amazing Lavender projects!) is another simple way to boost the scent of your Lavender. All you need are some heat-sealing tea bags, Lavender buds, and Sachets (or material and thread if you can hand sew!). Then, place one or two of these in your dryer with your clothes and have your favorite outfit smelling of the calming aroma of Lavender. If you'd rather purchase Lavender dryer sachets, this set of three Lavender dryer bags from SugaReyHerbals is only $5.50 on Etsy.
Shower in Lavender
Shower Sanctuary by BLDG 25
Fill your entire room with the aroma of Lavender and make your shower feel like a luxury spa. Just tie some fresh Lavender and some eucalyptus to your shower head and turn your shower experience into the most restful and relaxing part of your day. The hot steam from the shower activates the fragrance of the Lavender and Eucalyptus, making your bathroom smell and feel like a spa. For a helpful guide on how to add Lavender to your shower experience, read this guide on "Turning your shower space into a sanctuary" from BLDG 25. You'll also find some helpful tips on additional ways you can improve your shower experience.
Lavender Linen Spray
DIY Lavender Linen Spray from Food 52
Add a little spritz of this Lavender linen spray and you're off to dreamland. This easy DIY by Athena Calderone walks you through the few easy steps to making your sleep a "little more restful". All you need is some water, rubbing alcohol (or vodka if you have some laying around), and Lavender essential oil. The project calls for glass spray bottles, which are highly recommended (as they don't have as many chemicals in them as a plastic spray bottle would). You can purchase these at any health food store or online! If you don't have any vodka or rubbing alcohol lying around, you could always just purchase your own Lavender linen spray like this one from World Market, for $8.
For Your Body
While Lavender is perfect for aroma therapy, it is also a great herb to use in body lotions, body scrubs, soaps, etc. When used on the body, Lavender restores skin complexion, and reduces acne. It is also known to help heal burns and wounds as well as slow the aging process with powerful antioxidants. The following are a few of our favorite ways to use Lavender for your body!
Body Lotion
Lavender Body Lotion from Thrifty DIY DIva
So obviously the most lucrative way of using Lavender on your body is in the form of body lotion but we just absolutely love how simple and sweet this DIY Lavender body lotion is from Thrifty DIY Diva. This project combines almond oil, shea butter, aloe vera gel, and lavender essential oil to make the ultimate too-good to be true body lotion. For those of you with nut allergies (like myself), we found this super simple and super amazing home-made body lotion recipe!
Best Homemade Lotion by Back to the book Nutrition
The best part about this super simple body lotion is that it requires only three ingredients: Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, and Lavender Essential Oil (AND this recipe works with any essential oil). Only taking a few minutes to make, this is one of the fastest ways to add Lavender to your daily routine. And if you aren't one for the texture of these body butter/lotion options, you could try and make a solid Lavender lotion bar like this one below.
Lavender Lotion Bar by How Wee Learn
The trick to getting a perfectly solid lotion bar is to combine equal parts of beeswax and coconut oil. This recipe from How Wee Learn, gives you a complete guide on how to make the perfect lotion bars. While this recipe calls for dried lavender, you could also use Lavender essential oil for a stronger Lavender essence.
Lavender Face Mask
Lavender Clay Mask by Soap Queen
This clay mask was designed specifically to help with dry and sensitive skin and is a great way to use Lavender for your body. This recipe is a little more difficult than other options, as it calls for preservatives and a multitude of special wax. However, this recipe works perfectly for a multitude of oils. The main oils in this recipe are Lavender Essential oil, Avocado oil, and Argan Oil. However, if you happen to be allergic to Avocado oil (like myself) you can use any other oil that is liquid based and easily absorbed into the skin. The article also provides locations where you can find each of the required ingredients. If this project requires too many items you cannot get your hands on, try this Treatment & Renewal Mask from Anthropologie. While the anti-aging effects of this mask may not help the same way as the DIY mask, you are still absorbing that Lavender essential oil and all of its health benefits.
Lavender Soap
DIY Lavender Loofah Soap by A Pumpkin and A Princess
This is one of the more unique ways of using Lavender for your body. While Lavender soap is something not hard to come by, this combination of Lavender and a Loofah is both creative and effective. The best part is, the DIY guide by A Pumpkin and A Princess links you to all of the materials (and there aren't that many), which you can find on Amazon. With just four simple steps, you can easily make this creative lavender loofah an essential part of your shower routine.
And Yes, You Can Eat It
Lavender is a very versatile plant that can be used for aroma therapy, skin therapy and yes, it is edible (and quite delicious). When Lavender is ingested it can help prevent diabetes as well as certain forms of cancer. It has also been proven to stimulate urine flow, treat respiratory disorders, and improve blood circulation. While Lavender is quite good for you, it can also taste too good to be true. The following are some of our favorite Lavender recipes.
Lavender Tea
Lavender Tea by CountryLiving
Suffer from headaches but too afraid of damaging your liver to take pain killers? What if pain killers just aren't working for you? Here's a healthy solution to those headaches that won't be a pain to make. "Lavender can be brewed just as you would any other tea, with the ration of one teaspoon lavender to eight ounces of hot water, then steeped for 5-7 minutes." Says Kelly Zajack, owner of Tudor House Tea & Spice.
Lavender Tea Bread
Lavender Tea Bread by FeedingBig
Loved your Lavender tea? Why not some Lavender bread to go with your tea? That's right, this Lavender tea bread perfectly compliments any tea you are drinking. For this recipe, all you need is some culinary dried lavender and your typical baking essentials: eggs, butter, milk, baking powder, sugar, flower, and salt. It's simple and delicious and prep time only takes about 10 minutes! add a dried lavender stock as garnish and you're ready for an edible floral tea party.
White Chocolate Lavender Ice Cream
White Chocolate Lavender Ice Cream by HowSweetEats
Sometimes it can be difficult to eat healthy and get the nutrients you need. However, this recipe for white chocolate lavender ice cream combines delicious with nutritious! And no, there won't be any flower buds in your ice cream! Just amazingly sweet chunks of white chocolate. Don't like chunky ice cream? Just leave out the white chocolate! Before you go out and buy all of the ingredients, this recipe does require an ice cream maker!
Lavender and Vanilla Cupcakes
Lavender Cupcakes by A Beautiful Mess
While the cupcakes themselves are just Vanilla cupcakes, the frosting contains Lavender. The frosting recipe calls for Lavender buds and doesn't specify to get culinary buds, so make sure you are using culinary Lavender for this recipe. If you don't like grainy frosting (like myself) replace the 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar (this however, might result in a thicker frosting) OR (if you don't want your frosting to be too thick) you can keep the granulated sugar, but make sure that your butter is at room temperature (or higher) before you beat it. Mixing granulated sugar with cold ingredients will cause your frosting to be too grainy.
For more information on the health benefits of Lavender, you can read this article from Dr. Axe
or
You can read this article from Organic Facts
Not satisfied?
Check out this Medical study done by the University of Maryland Medical Center