Why French dried lavender?
We live in the UK so why do we have to buy French dried lavender? Isn’t it better to buy British? Yes definitely, but UK grown lavender isn’t always available due to the need for expensive specialist harvesting machinery.
In the last hundred years or so it has been grown on an industrial scale in France. This means it sells at affordable prices in Britain even after the cost of importing it has been taken in to consideration.
In Provence, lavender is primarily grown for the essential oil market and many tonnes of oil are produced every year. Luckily, the type of lavender that is good for oil production is great for dried grains too!
Lavender originates from France
Lavandula angustifolia actually originates from the South of France, where it grows wild. Lavender has been cultivated in and around Provence for centuries – see pic at top of page of a harvest in the early 1900s. That region of France is the centre of Europe for large-scale lavender growing.
The French distinguish between the two most popular varieties of lavender by giving them different common names. The popular highly fragrant and most commonly grown Lavandula x intermedia is referred to as “Lavandin”, whereas the more expensive Lavandula angustifolia (also known confusingly as English lavender) is known in France as “Lavande”. The angustifolia varieties have a soft relaxing fragrance, and are the most common source of lavender essential oil. The Intermedia varieties have a more powerful fragrance making them perfect for making lavender bags and potpourri. This second type is also available grown to organic standards.
If you’d like to know more about French dried lavender, do get in touch!