Lavender

by Cody A.
(Pittsburgh, PA.)

Lavender! Lavender! Lavender! Lavender! Okay I said it four times now. I just wanted to really be emphatic about how much I like the perennial blooming of my lavender plant. Yes, I certainly like my daisies and all of the other perennials growing, but lavender is my favorite. If I was just to pick the scent of lavender as why it is my favorite that would be enough.

Lavender is something I can harvest from the plant to use in potpourri, herbal medicine, even in drinks and teas! The scent is used in calming aromatherapy products but instead of buying something of questionable origin, I just use my own lavender. I even snip off a piece to put in my vehicle. It isn't harsh like the air fresheners that are store-bought. It's one-hundred percent natural, and I know the ingredient list—lavender.

Lavender needs lots of sun to really take hold and grow like a good weed. We all know it doesn't take much of anything for the bad weeds to grow, which is what I call anything growing on my property that I don't want there. All the stuff I want is what I refer to as good weeds, and I want them to be as hearty as the bad weeds.

The silvery leaves of the lavender plant that get topped by thin stalks with purple flowers is a delight in just about any color scheme of planting. If planted in the right spot, lavender can grow thick and fill in an area just with a plant or two as starters. There are different varieties, but the ones I see growing in Pennsylvania gardens grow to about three feet high.

You might not even remember what lavender smells like. Maybe you think you have no idea what it smells like. I can honestly say that it will most likely be familiar to you once you get an opportunity to experience it. The real thing is way better than the store-bought oils and sprays.