SERIES 19 | Episode 04
Hepburn Springs near Daylesford in Central Victoria, is the perfect place for a lavender farm. The property was originally settled by Italian-Swiss farmers in the 1860s. They grew olives, vines and other traditional crops to sustain them through winter. It's an area that's rich in history with farmhouses clustered around a cobbled courtyard, surrounded by olive groves, grape vines and lavender fields.
Carol White knows a lot about lavender. In the 1990s, to escape city life, she decided on a change of lifestyle. She bought the property and set about restoring the old buildings and planting her favourite plant. "I'd been to the south of France and seen lavender growing around small stone cottages similar to the one that's here and felt that it was a crop that I could manage as a single woman," she said.
She remembers it was difficult to establish the lavender farm. "There was a lack of water and I didn't really know the property. In those days, lavender wasn't popular, so trying to get lavender cuttings to put in the ground was also difficult," she said.
According to Carol, Lavender was originally taken to England with the Romans. "It's a Mediterranean plant that went to England early and was rediscovered by the monks in the Renaissance. But if you visit France now, what we call English lavender they call French lavender and the inferior lavender we call French lavender they call Anglaise," she said.
Carol grows a range of lavenders including Lavandula x intermedia 'Grosso' - an English lavender, hybridised in the lavender-growing regions of Provence, specifically for its oil content.
Carol also uses various cultivars of English lavender to get continuity of flowering. She lists the early flowerers in the Angustifolia range as:
* 'Hidcote' - silver grey leaves and masses of violet flowers
* 'Alba' - fragrant white flowers
* 'Rosea' - pretty dwarf variety with pale pink flowers
Carol harvests the lavender by hand. "We use little Chinese half-moon sickles that are also used all over rural Malaysia, Indonesia and still in France to harvest lavender flowers for the cut and dried market. Mechanically harvested lavender would end up all higgledy-piggledy and we want it in nice straight bunches," she said.
Lavenders include some 28 species of evergreen aromatic shrubs and sub shrubs belonging to the mint family, the Lamiaceae. They occur mainly around the Mediterranean and their flowers range from pink to purple and white.
Lavenders appreciate full sun. Grow them in shade and they grow out towards the sunlight, and they like a well-drained soil. They don't like wet feet. They don't need a lot of fertiliser but some dolomitic lime in spring and autumn helps, and add some potassium to intensify the colour and strengthen the stems.
These plants develop a good root system, so they don't need too much water. As lavender plants age, bushes can become woody. When pruning it's important to retain the green foliage and don't cut back into the old wood.
Lavenders can be propagated by seed but you run the risk of cross pollination and remember some are prone to becoming weedy. Check with your local council whether they're weeds in your area before planting. Propagate by taking cuttings - either with a heel on soft wood or take older semi-hardwood cuttings. Just put them into the soil or into an open mix.
The flower spikes of lavender are used for floral arrangements and the pale purple buds are perfect for potpourri. The plant's oils are used as an antiseptic and are now commonly used in aromatherapy. Lavender is a great plant for pots and tubs. You can also use them around the garden as a hedge or mass plant them as a feature. Lavenders are really versatile plants.
