Written By: The Gardener
There is nothing nicer than walking in your garden, soaking up the sun, smelling all the different fragrances of the flowers and hearing the bees humming away. One specific plants comes to mind when picturing this image, and it is the lovely Lavandula dentata ‘Elegans‘.
As they dance in the wind with their long dainty stems topped with a vibrant purple, we now understand why bees absolutely love these shrubs!
Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’
A bushy shrub with fragrant dark green leaves and dark purple flowers from spring to summer, they love to be planted in the sun where they can cope with all the shine in your garden! The Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’ grown by Malanseuns is excellent to use for cut flowers and can be used as pot-pouri as well.
When you think of planting lavender, don’t limit its use to garden beds bedding – use the lavender as a fragrant hedge in your driveway or try it in a beautiful pot on your patio to enjoy.
What benefits would you enjoy from this delicate perennial?
Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’ is a very versatile plant that can be used for cooking, for decorating and for aromatherapy apart from using it in your garden. We would say yes to choosing this plant for all these wonderful reasons!
Bringing the lavender fragrance indoors
Savouring the Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’ in your food is a treat, from baking with lavender to savoury dishes or making a soft lavender ice-cream – lavender brings a floral-earthiness-minty type of flavour and aroma to food. How delicious!
If you’re not sure how to use lavender in your food, always choose to use it sparingly because its scent can be a little overwhelming, like vanilla. We suggest to rather start mixing a little bit with your dish, along with other great pairing herbs such as thyme and rosemary, and as you get used to the taste explore with different combinations. You can use freshly picked lavender or ground dry buds that you can keep as spice in your cabinet, for you to explore with in the kitchen.
Find some delicious lavender recipes here
This information was supplied by Lonehill Media, publishers of The Gardener and Die Tuinier magazines. For more gardening tips and advice, visit www.thegardener.co.za
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Thanks Plants is brought to you by Plantland and Starke Ayres with media partners The Gardener and Die Tuinier magazines.
