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Preserving the pretty flower buds of lavender enables you to enjoy the scent throughout the year.
If you grow lavender in your garden or have a friend or family member who is happy for you to make the most of their shrubs, follow our top tips on how to dry lavender.
“All lavender is good for drying, but the earlier-flowering darker purples, such as Imperial Gem, are great for colour,” says lavender grower Simon Charlesworth, “while the later-flowering paler purples, such as Sussex, are best for scent.”
You can get the best of both worlds with some lavenders, and he recommends Olympia and Anniversary Bouquet if you’re looking for “good colour and scent”.
The best time to cut lavender depends on what you plan to use it for. Charlesworth suggests cutting it as the first flowers open if you want to dry a bunch to display or to flavour food, as “the dry lavender will then remain looking fresh and coloured”.
“If the dried lavender is to go into bags or sachets as loose grains, then it can be cut when in full flower. There’s more scent in the head at that time,” he adds.
The time of day you cut your lavender can also make a difference. Cutting the lavender around midday rather than first thing gives the shrub time to dry after the morning dew. Dampness from dew is best avoided as it can lead to mould developing during the drying process.
There are several ways to dry lavender. It is best dried naturally over several weeks.
However, if patience isn’t your virtue, lavender can be dried in the oven in a matter of minutes.
If you’re drying lavender for the flower heads rather than the full stems for a bouquet, Charlesworth advises to strip the grains from the flower heads, as it’s a quicker drying method.
“Thinly lay the fresh stems on some form of net – a greenhouse shade netting or net curtains – in a dry environment such as a conservatory.”
Within a week the heads should be dry, and grains should be easily released when lightly rubbed between the hands. If the grains are for bags and sachets, they’re ready for use.
However, if you’re using them to flavour food, Charlesworth suggests that “some light sieving should remove the chaff”.
Lavender doesn’t need to be dried naturally – instead it can be popped in an oven to speed up the process.
Here we take you through the steps on how to dry lavender in an oven.
Drying your lavender upside down will take much longer than popping it in the oven for 10 minutes.
After a quick turnaround? Then using an oven is your best bet, but if you have time and patience and two to four weeks to spare, we’d recommend taking the slow route and drying your lavender upside down.
The lavender oil is stored in the part of the plant called the calyx – it’s where the flower emerges from.
Charlesworth explains that the calyces are ribbed vertically and can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, and in between the ribs are thousands of oil glands.
“When these calyces or grains, as they’re commonly referred to, are squeezed, the glands are ruptured, releasing the oil. Hence squeezing a lavender bag or bunch once in a while will release the delicate lavender aroma,” he says.
In its simplest form, dried lavender can be used in a bouquet to adorn and fragrance a room. Charlesworth suggests “popping some grains from a dried lavender flower head into potpourri”.
It can also be used as a moth buster. “Hang a sachet in a wardrobe or a drawer to deter clothes moths,” says Charlesworth, “or sprinkle some grains under sofas and armchairs where carpet moths may lurk.”
For maximum scent, squeeze the lavender grains to release it. It’s also known for its abilities to ease stress and aid relaxation.
Having trouble sleeping? A lavender bag popped under your pillow at night can help ease you into the land of nod.
And although it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, lavender can also be used to flavour food. “It can add a floral note to biscuits, shortbread and scones,” says Charlesworth. “Scent the sugar to be used in the recipe by adding grains to a bag a few weeks before use.”
However, he warns: “Use in moderation. A teaspoon is sufficient for a batch!” It’s an acquired taste that Charlesworth says he’s yet to develop, but he suggests using dark-purple lavender as it “adds colour and has softer floral and less astringent flavour”.
