Queen Victoria was a lover of lavender scented items, ordering it in everything from wood polish to bath water and laundry soap. Such products were fashionable with the ladies of the day and the English lavender industry took over miles of farmland; it takes 100-130 kilos of flowers to produce one kilo of lavender essence.
Hard to image today, but the main growing areas were around Merton in South London, which was Surrey in those days. At the height of its popularity in the Victorian era, Hitchin growers Perks and Llewellyn were cultivating over 100 acres of lavender.
The rise in land prices after the First World War pushed growers out of business, and today most commercial lavender is grown in Provence, where the vast expanses of purple and blue, contrasted with sunflowers and wheat in peak season, against a backdrop of lakes, historical villages and churches are an iconic image and huge tourist attraction.
The Romans introduced lavender to Britain, using the flowers to scent and wash themselves (lavender is from the Latin lavare, to wash). Their legionaries also carried bundles of it with them on campaign to use as an antibacterial agent in bandages. Later, it was used as a nosegay on London streets to mask the stench of everyday life.
By the 17th century, many houses had rooms where essences were distilled for use by the household. As one of the key ingredients of the traditional apothecary, it is a must for a medicinal herb patch. A quick remedy for bee stings is to use a paste of baking soda and water to neutralise the sting, letting it dry for a few minutes, then applying a drop of lavender oil to soothe and disinfect the wound. It is a salve for stress and insomnia, and soothes post-surgery pain. Its clean, refreshing scent, when dried and stuffed into linen pillows, is greatly enhanced with eucalyptus prunings: hung strategically in the shower cubicle, they will lend a spa-like scent and relaxation to your ablutions (whale music optional).
Lavandula angustifolia, meaning 'narrow leaf', is known as "English lavender" (sorry, Romans), and was formely classified as Lavandula officinalis, which refers to its belonging to a storeroom as a medicinal plant: a name common among medicinal and useful herbs; Salvia, Pulmonaria, Rosmarinus, Borago, Hyssopus all share the botanical epithet 'officinalis'.
Essential lavender oil from the Haute-Provence region (the best-known region is the Valensole Plateau) is a certified product with AOP status, and 10ml of essential lavender oil sells for around £6 in the UK.
These days, lavender is more popular than ever in a wide range of edible products, from teas to honey, chutney, ice-cream, chocolate and fudge, and British lavender fields are making a comeback, mainly in Kent, the Cotswolds and Norfolk.
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