Can you buy this in NZ? I have found a recipe for lavender lemonade, I would like to try 1 cup raw honey (local if you can get it) 5 cups pure water 1 Tbsp. dried, organic culinary lavender (or 1/4 cup fresh lavender blossoms, crushed) (where to find online) 1 cup fresh-squeezed, organic lemon juice, strained Ice cubes Lavender sprigs for garnish Instructions Bring 2 1/2 cups water to boil in a medium pan Remove from heat and add honey, stirring to dissolve. Add the lavender to the honey water, cover, and let steep at least 20 minutes or up to several hours, to taste Strain mixture and discard lavender Pour infusion into a glass pitcher Add lemon juice and another 2 1/2 cups of cold water. Stir well. Refrigerate until ready to use, or pour into tall glasses half-filled with ice, then garnish with lavender sprigs. Sit on the porch a spell and enjoy!
uli,
Aug 28, 6:11am
What you are looking for is what is called in Layman Terms "English Lavender".
The Latin name (much better to identify plants is "Lavandula angustifolia").
So what you will find in the Garden Centers in NZ are varieties like: Munstead, Hidcote Pink, Hidcote, Royal Velvet, Sarah, Jean Davis, Lady, and Vera. They are all L. angustifolia varieties.
All of those will smell very nice and are all edible. All of those are not too easy to grow in NZ.
Keep away from the more hardy ones like the "French" or "Spanish" Lavenders - they have serrated leaves and grow very well but have no taste or smell at all.
Sometimes if you are lucky you can find the Lavandins: The English Lavender Hybrids, sometimes referred to as Lavandins come in third in the bloom cycle, starting just as the the English Lavenders are finishing, and continuing to mid summer.
These are the workhorses of Lavender. They do it all: bloom lots, grow just the right size, and smell like a million bucks. Provence and Grosso are the best known of these, but there are many others, including Abriali, Fred Boutin, Dutch Mill, Grappenhall, Seal, Hidcote Giant, Edelweiss and White Grosso. These are the ones to line the drive or border the garden with.
The botanical name for the Lavandins is Lavandula x intermedia. The x means it is a cross with two plants. In this case, it is L. angustifolia and L. latifolia.
Good luck!
helen149,
Aug 28, 7:20am
Uli - that was an excellent piece of information. Thank you so much.
davidt4,
Nov 28, 5:41pm
That's very interesting Uli. I had no idea about Lavandin and I will look for it now. I think it will do well in our new garden.
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