2nd July: Lavender

In the French Revolutionary Calendar they celebrated a different plant or substance every day and today was Lavender's turn. Here are some things you might not know about lavender:

1. It's generally believed that the name lavender comes from the Latin word lavare, meaning to wash, although it could equally have derived from the word livere, meaning "blueish".
2. Historically, lavender was used to make things smell nice. Marie Antoinette is said to have decorated the royal palaces with lavender and in the 16th century it was used in England to perfume bed linen. The smell of lavender has the additional advantage that, while humans generally like it, Mice, flies, Mosquitoes, Moths and bedbugs hate it.
3. The Ancient Egyptians used lavender in the embalming process. In 16th century England, bunches were sold during epidemics of the plague to ward off the smell of disease and death.
4. An old word for Lavender is nard. The ancient Greeks called it that after the Syrian city of Naarda.
5. Lavender is mentioned in the Bible. It was one of the herbs used to make the holy essence and it's also mentioned in the Song of Solomon.
6. Lavender belongs to the Mint family. There are 39 species of lavender. Most of them are purple or blue, but there are Pink and Yellow varieties, too.
7. Today, it is commercially grown mainly for the essential oil, which is contained in tiny hairs on the flower buds.
8. Lavender has been known for its medicinal properties throughout history, believed to cure everything from headaches to the plague. It has calming, sedative effects so it's good for anxiety and putting lavender under the pillow is believed to help people sleep. It's also known for its antiseptic properties which may be why lavender essential oil was used in hospitals during world war I. They may have used lavender Honey, too. The flowers yield abundant nectar from which bees make a high-quality honey, which is good for uninfected wounds. It can even be eaten to relieve indigestion.
9. In the language of flowers, lavender can mean devotion, luck, success, happiness or distrust.
10. Lavender grows best in dry, well-drained, sandy or gravelly soils in full sun. It is often found growing wild, having "escaped" from gardens. In Australia and parts of Spain, lavender is considered a weed.