Lavender is near and dear to our hearts at Westhaven and the primary reason we started this farm. At Westhaven Farms we grow several varieties of lavender: 'Hidcote', 'Munstead', and 'Grosso'.
The English lavender, 'Hidcote' and 'Munstead' have shorter flower stems and rich purple colour and a sweet lavender scent, making them ideal for culinary use. The Lavandin, 'Grosso', has long flower stems and light purple colour. Lavandin has a powerful lavender scent, with an herbal, camphor-like undertone which is traditionally used for fragrance purposes.,
Our lavender is available in several forms: fresh, hydrosol, and essential oil and produced right here on the Farm.
‘Hidcote’ English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’)
‘Hidcote’ blooms develop deep purple blossoms and form smaller mounds of 12 to 18 inches tall and wide. It’s dense silver-grey foliage, covered in fragrant, dark violet-blue dense flower spikes in mid-summer. The fragrant flowers make this a tasty edible lavender. Named after Hidcote, the Arts & Crafts garden in Gloucestershire U.K., it is one of the most popular lavenders.
Munstead’ English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’)
‘Munstead’ is a well-known type of lavender, similar to ‘Hidcote’, but is more compact and has looser, paler flowers. It boasts the trait of better heat tolerance than other English lavender varieties. These plants were produced by crossing heat-tolerant Portuguese spike lavender or broadleaf lavender (Lavandula latifolia) with English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). The resulting hybrids blend cold and heat tolerance in plants that yield outstanding flowers.
'Grosso’ lavender (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’)
‘Grosso’ is prized for its prolific, intensely perfumed blooms. ‘Grosso’ is often raised commercially for essential oil that’s used in the perfume industry. ‘Grosso’ bears large flower heads in rich purple, over a long period. It grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. They also have broader leaves and longer flower stalks, making them particularly suited to use as a cut flower. Lavendin Grosso is generally harvested in August. Fun fact: As ‘Grosso’ is a hybrid species of two Lavender species the term Lavandin is used, instead of Lavendula.
Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’
Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’
Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’
How to Store Your Lavender
If you’re cooking with fresh lavender, pick it as close to mealtime as possible (or cut and place in a jar of water until ready to use).
Hang dried lavender upside down in a cool, dark place for about two weeks. You can either leave the bunch(es) hanging or remove the buds and store them in an airtight container in the freezer.
