The Lavender Lover's Handbook

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.

“This book is the heady distillation of [Sarah Bader's] knowledge."”

"Bader offers an extensive collection of recipes and instructions for everything from lavender desserts and drinks to wreaths and wands." --Booklist

"The best recent all around lavender book with something for gardeners, crafters, and cooks alike." --Library Journal

" --Country Gardens

"Covers a wide range of aspects of growing and using the popular herb." --Akron Beacon Journal

"The book is filled with glorious pictures, tasteful recipes, fabulous crafts, and a wonderful education on growing lavender." --Karen's Korner

"A field guide, growing guide, and craft guide all in one, The Lavender Lover's Handbook has something for anyone who loves this plant." --Books Yarn Ink Blog

Sarah Berringer Bader has always been drawn to lavender. In 2000 she purchased a five-acre farm south of Portland, Oregon, and after visiting the Sequim Lavender Festival in Washington and seeing rows and rows of this wondrous herb, decided to create a test plot of 365 plants despite knowing nothing about planting lavender. She learned through trial and error, helped by a little-known society of lavender pioneers who had dedicated their careers to cultivating, growing, and preserving the true species of lavender. Soon she purchased many varieties of lavender from a seasoned grower in Oregon who had propagated starts from his own extensive collection acquired over a twenty-year span.In 2005 she planted almost 5000 lavender plants with more than ninety cultivars and began propagating her own starts from cuttings. She opened her farm to the public and began holding the classes that inspired this book. Sarah and her farm, Lavender at Stonegate, have been featured in regional publications, on television and radio, and in Grower Talks and Country Gardens magazines.

With its intoxicating scent, wands of gorgeous purple flowers, and handsome silvery foliage, lavender is one of the world's most popular herbs. Lavender expert Sarah Bader introduces readers to 100 stunning varieties--from the continuous blooms of deep purple 'Buena Vista' and the sweet, delicate flavor of pink 'Melissa' to the incredible fragrance of 'Grosso', the lavender most often used in making perfume. The Lavender Lover's Handbook is an essential resource for finding the best varieties for your garden or container, providing you with a complete checklist of the color, fragrance, size, and foliage of each plant. Whether you want to create a fabulous container garden, a dramatic border, or an exquisite herb garden, this rich primer gives easy, proven tips for growing, harvesting, drying, cooking, and crafting with this wonderful herb. "This is simply the most gorgeous, enticing, and informative book on lavender that one will find." --Rosemary Gladstar, author and herbalist

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.