The Lavender Lover's Handbook : The 100 Most Beautiful and Fragrant Varieties for Growing, Crafting, and Cooking

With its intoxicating scent, gorgeous wands of purple flowers, and silvery foliage, lavender is one of the most sought-after plants. But the horticultural reasons for choosing lavender go far beyond its beauty. Lavender attracts beneficial insects, requires little water once established, and is deer resistant. In __The Lavender Lover's Handbook__, lavender grower Sarah Bader teaches gardeners how they can successfully grow this beloved plant. Featuring the 100 easiest, most stunning lavenders available today, this beginner's guide provides a complete checklist of the color, fragrance, size, and foliage of each plant, in addition to basic pruning, spacing, and planting requirements. The text is rounded out with tips on how to harvest, cook, and craft with this wonderful herb. Its abundant variety, hardiness, fragrance, and culinary uses make lavender one of the most popular and versatile plants. And now, with this practical and accessible guide in hand, it's easier than ever to grow at home.

With its intoxicating scent, gorgeous wands of purple flowers, and silvery foliage, lavender is one of the most sought-after plants. But the horticultural reasons for choosing lavender go far beyond its beauty. Lavender attracts beneficial insects, requires little water once established, and is deer resistant.

In The Lavender Lover's Handbook, lavender grower Sarah Bader teaches gardeners how they can successfully grow this beloved plant. Featuring the 100 easiest, most stunning lavenders available today, this beginner's guide provides a complete checklist of the color, fragrance, size, and foliage of each plant, in addition to basic pruning, spacing, and planting requirements. The text is rounded out with tips on how to harvest, cook, and craft with this wonderful herb.

Its abundant variety, hardiness, fragrance, and culinary uses make lavender one of the most popular and versatile plants. And now, with this practical and accessible guide in hand, it's easier than ever to grow at home.

In this lavishly illustrated book for lavender lovers, Oregon farmer Bader provides tips on planting, harvesting, drying, and using drought-tolerant lavender as color in the garden, for household decorations, and as aromatherapy. The core of the book is a section of brief entries on 100 types of lavender, offering a variety of colors, textures, and scents for the garden. Entries give info on origin, flower and foliage colors, stem length, blooming, plant height, ideal plant spacing, and hardiness. The book also contains recipes for herbal blends with essential oils for use around the house and even at the dinner table. Illustrated step-by-step instructions are given for crafts such as wreaths, sachets, and swags. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com). “The best recent all-around lavender book with something for gardeners, crafters, and cooks alike.” —Library Journal Lavender is beloved for its and culinary and medicinal uses. In The Lavender Lover's Handbook, Sarah Berringer Bader provides a complete overview of the 100 most colorful, fragrant, and stunning varieties. You will discover expert tips on spacing, planting, pruning, and care and maintenance. Additional information includes tips on how to harvest, cook with, and preserve the plant, along with step-by-step crafts and project that use lavender in beautiful and soothing ways. Lavender obsession: an introduction Lavender in the garden: landscapes, containers, and herb gardens The lavender palette: 100 varieties to try Care and cultivation: from planting to pruning, harvesting, and drying Lavender recipes: herb blends, condiments, desserts, and drinks Scented creations: wands, wreaths, swags, sachets, and beyond.