Spanish lavender

Lavender is rich in essential oils that give off a strong aromatic scent. It is a bushy, woody, evergreen shrub. Its leaves are very aromatic and light green in colour. The violet-purple flowers are grouped together in particularly beautiful and striking spikes. Wild lavender is one of the plants that characterize the Mediterranean garrigue, but it can also be found growing in the crevices of vertical rocks. The name lavender is believed to derive from the ancient custom of adding this plant to washing water. Lavender has been known for over 2500 years as a natural remedy, for perfuming and in mummification. It is mentioned in Dioscorides’ “De Materia Medica” (65 AD). It has several medicinal uses. In some parts of Italy, the extensive blooms allow large quantities of lavender honey to be harvested. In the language of flowers, the sight and memory of plants of the Lavandula genus “gives serenity and happiness”.