What To Do With Dried Lavender This Harvest Season
If you have an abundance of lavender in your garden, don’t just let it go to waste when the growing season is done! Instead, try drying it out so you can use it all year long. Then, please take a look at these 15 awesome ideas when it comes down to what to do with dried lavender so you can enjoy it. I’m sure you’ll find something!
Lavender is hands down one of my favorite herbs to grow (and it’s so easy!). Not only is it a beautiful plant, but the soothing, herby fragrance you smell as you walk by them is fantastic. Lavender also tastes pretty incredible in recipes (like syrup and tea) and baked goods!
What’s NOT to love about this soothing plant?
If you’re anything like me, you have at least one (ok, five!) happy lavender plants growing in your yard (or container garden). And, if you live in a similar area as I do, your winters get too cold for lavender to grow through the season… which means it’s essential to find a way to preserve it so you can enjoy your blooms all year long.
Over the last several years, I’ve learned how to dry flowers and herbs successfully. This knowledge allowed me to bring my garden indoors and enjoy it when everything outside is dead or dormant. As a result of harvesting and drying lavender from my garden for several years now, I’ve also been exploring more ways to use my dried lavender!
Related: Are you growing your own lavender? Check out these full guides to this wonderfully fragrant herb:
- How to Dry Lavender
- How to Grow Lavender from Seeds
- Growing Lavender Plants in Pots
- Winterizing Your Lavender Plants
- Pruning Lavender to Help it Survive the Cold Months
- Will Lavender Spread in my Garden?
- When Do Lavender Plants Bloom?
Are you wondering what to do with your batch of dried lavender? There are probably more ways to use it than you realize. So here are 15 practical things you can do with dried lavender!
15 Fun Ways To Use Dried Lavender
Many people think that the only thing to do with dried lavender buds is to display them. But there are so many more ways to use them! To show you what I mean, here are 15 ways you can make the most of your dried lavender supply today.
Make Potpourri
Potpourri doubles as a beautiful piece of decor and a natural deodorizer. You don’t need much to make potpourri:
- A small container such as a glass or ceramic bowl
- Dried lavender
- Other dried flowers such as rose petals, dahlias, etc.
- Pinecones or other natural items
- Lavender essential oil
The dried buds have a fragrance of their own, so you probably won’t need the essential oil to enjoy it at first. However, it will fade over time. When that happens, you can sprinkle a little lavender essential oil on your potpourri to refresh the scent as needed.
Use Dried Lavender In A Wreath
If you enjoy making your wreaths to hang around your home, consider making one with your dried lavender. Although I usually tend to make wreaths with yarn, I love the look of wreaths made with dried flowers.
Bonus: your dried lavender wreath will not only greet guests with its decorative appeal but also with its fragrance too!
Create A Dried Flower Arrangement Or Centerpiece
Since I bring in handfuls of cut flowers all through the growing season to create arrangements, it’s only natural that I would make dried flower arrangements too! They have their beauty and still bring a lovely fragrance to a room.
DIY Candles With Dried Lavender
Making your candles is much easier than you probably realize. I think it’s a very satisfying and rewarding DIY project because you can create beautiful candles in any style you want using items such as dried lavender.
Gift Wrapping
Have you ever thought to add a couple of dried lavender stems to your wrapped packages? Of course, I wouldn’t add them to every gift you wrap, but they make a lovely personal touch to unique gifts!
Dried Lavender Sachets
Make your bags, or if you prefer, buy some simple sachet bags. Then, add your dried flower buds, herbs, and any other dried flowers you desire to them.
Close them up and tuck them into your dresser drawers or closets for a fresh scent you can’t live without.
Natural Confetti
Confetti always makes a pleasant surprise on a birthday or even a “thinking of you” card. Whether you make your cards or buy them, you can add a few dried lavender buds to the inside of your cards to add fun, natural confetti.
I prefer this kind of confetti over the glitter kind, hands down – it’s much easier to clean up!
Dryer Sheet Replacement
Dryer sheets smell lovely, but that fragrance is chemically-created. So as our family moves away from unnecessary chemicals, I’ve been working to find natural replacements for everyday items.
Use your dried lavender to create dryer bags that give your laundry a pleasant scent without the harsh chemicals.
Natural Air Freshener
In a similar concept to making potpourri, you can make a natural air freshener jar using dried lavender leaves and buds. Here’s how:
- Take a small mason jar and fill it almost full with baking soda.
- Add ⅓ cup of dried lavender buds.
- Next, add 5-7 dops of lavender essential oil. Put the lid on and shake it up.
- Cut out a piece of fabric or decorative paper and screw it onto the top of the jar with the band (or you could attach it with a rubber band or piece of twine).
- If you use fabric, you’re done and can begin enjoying your air freshener. If you use paper on the top, take a pen and poke holes into the paper so the air freshener can send out it’s lavender scent.
Bath Salts With Dried Lavender
Bath salts are a great way to pamper yourself after a challenging day. For that reason, they also make a terrific DIY gift idea! They’re super easy to make and stay fresh for at least six months. Here’s how:
- Combine 1 ¼ cups Epsom salt, ¼ cup dried lavender buds, and 7-10 drops of lavender essential oil.
- Store the bath salts in a mason jar with the lid secured tightly.
To give your bath salts as a gift, tie a beautiful ribbon around the lid!
Lavender-Infused Vinegar
If you love finding new incredible ways to use vinegar 🙋♀️, try infusing your vinegar with dried lavender to make a great hair rinse, fabric softener, or glass cleaner!
It’s easy. All you have to do is put your dried lavender buds in a mason jar and cover them with vinegar. Put a non-metallic lid on, if possible, and store it in a dark cabinet for 3-4 weeks, shaking up the contents every few days.
Lavender Oil
This isn’t the same as lavender essential oil, which uses a different process to extract the natural oils from the lavender plant. However, you can use this lavender oil in some of your favorite recipes.
All you have to do is fill a mason jar halfway full with dried lavender leaves and cover them with your favorite culinary oil (I like to use Olive Oil). Let them soak that way for four weeks, strain out the leaves, then your oil is ready to use!
Add Lavender To Your Tea or Cold Drinks
Try adding some dried buds in a steeper or homemade tea bag if you love to drink tea. Use the ratio of ½ tsp of dried lavender to 1 cup of water and steep for 5 minutes for hot tea (or 12 hours for cold tea).
Drink as it is, or sweeten with honey or agave nectar.
Use Dried Lavender In Your Recipes
Lavender pairs well with lemon in both savory and sweet dishes. It can also be used as a rosemary substitute in many recipes.
Just keep a couple of things in mind with cooking with dried lavender:
- The flavor is strong, so start by adding a small amount and slowly increase it as desired.
- Dried lavender has a stronger flavor than fresh. So, when you cook with dried lavender, use about ⅓ of the amount you would use of fresh lavender to achieve the same flavor.
Baking
Lavender oil is a great way to add that delicious lavender flavor to your baked goods. You could also add some crushed dried lavender leaves.
But, my favorite way to use this dried herb in baking is to add it as a beautiful garnish to cakes, bread, and cookies!
With so many ways to use it and an aroma that is both soothing and restoring, lavender is one of my favorite herbs to grow in my garden. Its versatility is almost unparalleled! I hope this post gives you some new ideas for ways to use dried lavender in your decor, DIY body products, and even in your food.
