Lavender History – the herb royalé
Lavender blue and lavender green,
When I am King you shall be Queen
Nursery Rhyme
Lavender, the word, is thought to have been derived in the Middle Ages from the Latin word lavare, meaning to wash, since the Romans habitually used lavender as a ritual to perfume their bath and also use as a hair and body oil.
As a plant, lavender has become a symbol of peace, cleanliness, purity, chastity, longevity, perseverance, relaxation, love and affection. Given the royal patronage this plant has enjoyed with European royalty over many centuries, we believe lavender can truly be considered the herb royalé
The Egyptians were fond of aromatics which they used in their temples to perform the sanctuary in which offerings of food and drink and the preparing of sacrificial food and clothing were made; as part of the process of embalming the dead; and for aesthetic purposes during their lives.
Lavender was used for the process of mummification, and on some occasions when opening ancient tombs that had remained undisturbed for thousands of years, archeologists have been met by the fragrance of dried lavender. Egyptian priests prepared most of the fragrant oils and unguents and were therefore much esteemed as the perfumers of their time, guarding the secrets of a mysterious art.
Early Greeks used lavender mainly for its medicinal purposes, and a Greek physician and botanist, Dioscorides, in AD 60, referred to the beneficial effects of lavender for its “deobstruent and roborant (laxative and stimulant) qualities enabling it to be used for chest complaints.
Romans used two types of lavender. L. Stoechas for medicinal purposes and L. Spica to extend, and later replace some precious imported oils then commonly used. Pliny the Elder mentioned seems to have distinguished these two varieties of lavender in use at that time.
While it is believed lavender was cultivated during the Dark to Middle Ages by religious communities and used in its dried state for culinary and medicinal purposes, this has yet to be verified. Much of the horticulture at that time was carried out in the vicinity of monasteries and convents, which were then the community centres for worship and healing.
Abbess Hildegard of Bingen (
About the same period, there is an unconfirmed reference to the use of lavender in an Arab culinary recipe book.
The Welsh Physicians of Myddfai of South Wales compiled a collection of recipes and remedies known as the Red Book of Hergest among which was mentioned Llafant, Llanafntly, Llafanallys, or lavender in Welsh and this is considered evidence of the use of lavender as a medicinal plant in thirteenth century
The traditional use Greek and Roman medicinal use of lavender was continued in the sixth century by the Byzantine and later the Arabs.
Arabs are recorded as having used lavender flowers as an antispasmodic and expectorant, and applied lavender water to maintain skin tone and condition, also using lavender vinegar on their cheeks instead of rouge to give colour.
Many herbs, including lavender were introduced to
Lavender was used widely in
There are many references to the introduction of lavender into Great Britain, including, perhaps, the Celts thousands of years before Christ was born, in 1265 at which time the Queen of England was Eleanor of Provence, or by the French Huguenots in the 1500’s who grew it on a greater scale.
Parkinson, an herbalist and apothecary to James I thought of lavender as of ‘especiall good use for all griefes and paines of the head and brain’.
The popular use of herbs, including lavender peaked during the reign of Elizabeth I who always ensured she had a bowl of lavender conserve on her table that was made from lavender produced on her farms.
Turner’s herbal dedicated to Elizabeth I, noted ‘the flowers of lavender quilted in a cap comfort the brain very well’, and that it was highly recommended for all diseases of the brain that ‘come of a cold cause’.
During this time lavender was used extensively for herbal healing, purifying, culinary and cleaning purposes. Flowers were burnt to induce sleep and create a peaceful atmosphere and also used because of their virtue in ‘protecting clothes from dirty filthy beasts’.
Charles VI of
Queen Henrietta Maria (wife of Charles I) grew long borders of a rare white lavender in her gardens at
Queen Victoria, perhaps the most significant champion of lavender was courted by
The present era of gardening has continued from that time. During the seventeenth century lavender was commonly used as a lawn in
While lavender was traditionally grown as an herbal household aid, it was not until the late 1700’s that it was grown commercially in
The early immigrants in the nineteenth century when coming to
Lavender as an indispensable herb in antipodean gardens was commonly found planted close to the house to ensure ready availability for all expected uses.
From 1930 onwards, Duncan and Davies Ltd, a plant nursery of New Plymouth, New Zealand referred to listed lavenders in their catalogues as ‘English, French and Dutch being very suitable as dwarf garden hedges or low borders’.
While herbs in
D. H. Buisson identified lavender as a potential commercial crop in 1979, and following trials of selections of L angustifolia and L. latifolia conducted by the Lincoln Research center of the Department of Scientific and Industrial research at Christchurch (N.Z), the results were published in 1982.
Further trials in 1983 followed, from which time other growers including Arthur Wilson (designer of our still pot) undertook further crop growing trials and investigations.
In 1995 the New Zealand Lavender Oil Producers Association was formed, later changing its name to New Zealand Lavender Growers Association. Today this association has over 120 members in locations spread from Invercargill in the south of the South Island to Kerikeri at the north of the
In
The
Today lavender has rightly regained its position as the herb royalé of the garden, and enjoys a popularity not seen since Elizabethan times
