Latest news with #lavender
The Sun
4 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Want free lavender plants? How to take cuttings in 5 steps & fill your garden with flowers & fragrance in a few weeks
WOULD you like free lavender plants to brighten up your outside space? Well, luckily for you, a gardening guru has shared how to take lavender cuttings in barely any time at all. 4 4 4 4 Thanks to these five quick and easy steps, you'll be able to fill your garden with more flowers and a gorgeous fragrance in a matter of weeks. Posting on social media, Simon Akeroyd, a gardening enthusiast from the UK, shared a reel to explain how gardeners can nab themselves extra lavender plants without needing to spend a penny. Sharing his top tips online, Simon confirmed that there's no time like the present to get started, as now is the best time to propagate lavender. First things first, you'll need to look and cut for non-flowering young shoots which are turning woody at the base. Once you've cut these shoots, the second step is to strip the lower leaves and cut just below a bud at the base. It's important that you take a few cuttings, as this will increase your success rate. For the third step, you'll need to grab some pots and gritty compost, and insert your cuttings around the edge. According to Simon, after just 'a few weeks,' your lavender 'will have started to grow.' Once each cutting has formed roots, you can then move onto the fourth step, which involves potting them individually. With Simon's fifth step, it's very important that you keep the lavender plants well watered. Cheap and easy ways to transform your garden including painting fences black After following these steps, Simon confirmed: 'Next year they will become beautiful flowering lavenders.' Simon's Facebook reel has clearly impressed many, as it has quickly racked up 50,000 views, 1,800 likes and 52 comments. Beginner gardeners were grateful for the handy tips and many eagerly raced to the comments to thank Simon for his step-by-step instructions. One person said: 'Thank you so much.' Another added: 'We have a lavender hedge in our front garden so this will come in handy, thank you.' A third commented: 'Thank you. Going to try this.' Meanwhile, someone else beamed: 'Your videos are always interesting, Simon. Thanks for sharing, I will definitely do this.' Not only this, but another wrote: 'Your videos are fantastic! Thank you for showing an ignoramus like me how to do something good in the garden.' Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club Top gardening trends of 2025 Gardening experts at Barnsdale Gardens has shared the top gardening trends of 2025. Matrix planting It seems that a top planting trend for this year is going to be Matrix Planting. In essence, planting in groups or blocks to give an effect of being wild whilst actually being carefully managed. Selection of the plants is essential, to give year-round interest either with flowers, seed heads or frosted/snowy spent flower heads. Some recommend using plants that seed around, but this could make managing your matrix planting harder to keep under control. Chrysanthemum comeback I hope that the humble Chrysanthemum makes as much of a comeback this year as Dahlias have over recent years, because the simple single flowered types, such as 'Innocence' and 'Cottage Apricot' would be spectacular within a matrix scheme. The hardy varieties are so easy to grow in a sunny spot and give such a valuable burst of late summer and autumn colour that would lift any dull- looking border. Blended borders For some time now we have been promoting the growing of veg within ornamental borders and I think this could really take off this year. The choice of ornamental-looking varieties available in seed catalogues is phenomenal and, if managed correctly, visitors to your garden will not even realise that you have veg growing! Must-have tool My secret is out. I discovered the Hori Hori a couple of years ago and now it seems so is everyone else. It is such a well-made, adaptable tool that can be used as a trowel or weeding tool in the garden that and everyone I speak to who have used it absolutely would not now be without it. Enough said!
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Telegraph
Instagram tourists told to stay away from Spanish lavender fields
Instagramming tourists have been told to stay away from a Spanish village's vibrant lavender fields because huge numbers of visitors are placing a strain on local services. More than 100,000 people flocked to the pastures outside Brihuega in July, and many of them were seen posing for selfies among rows and rows of purple flowers. But Luis Viejo, the mayor, said he wanted people to avoid coming on weekends as the village could not cope with the amount of tourists arriving. 'Take last Saturday, for example: the village collapsed. It was a hard time for me,' Mr Viejo said. 'We have a wide range of tourist, cultural and artistic offerings thanks to lavender,' he told the ABC newspaper. 'But my advice is that people come and visit us between Monday and Thursday – please! Weekends are more difficult because of the huge quantity of people who come.' The village's narrow streets, some of which are a thousand years old and are lined with shops selling lavender-related wares, overflow with tourists during the blooming season, with parking becoming a massive problem. Mr Viejo said his village could be the victim of its own success in attracting tourists to the area. He said that 'access to the fields is free', which means the village authority has no levers to limit numbers of visitors by restricting access or charging a fee. 'Ahead of next year, we need to build a park-and-ride parking lot on the outskirts of the historic centre and connect it with shuttle buses,' Mr Viejo said. Lavender season tourism has transformed Brihuega, bringing in eight million euros thanks to the arrival of about 140,000 visitors, mostly during July. 'Managing such an influx of visitors in such a short time is difficult. We work hard, we have a security committee, but it's still a large turnout,' the mayor said. Mr Viejo said the village now hosted 'the first five-star hotel' in the province of Guadalajara, adding that the challenge is to make tourism an all-year-round activity and less reliant on the lavender blooming. The annual Lavender Bloom Festival this July will include concerts by major Spanish pop acts such as Los Secretos, alongside yoga workshops and watercolour sessions in the fields.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Climate
- The Sun
Lidl's £4.99 drought-resistant plant will thrive ALL summer long – as another 1million households hit by hosepipe ban
LIDL is selling an affordable plant that will keep thriving all summer long and attracts wildlife. The drought-resistant plant is perfect as more households are affected by hosepipe ban despite the scorching temperatures. The supermarket chain has introduced lavender pots for this week's bargains as gardeners will be searching for low-maintenance plants. The beautiful shrub is retailing for only £4.99 and comes in a pack of six. It can be planted in pots or borders, and has a height of 16 to 20cm. To get the most out of your lavender, plant it in a sunny spot with well-drained soil. The best part about lavender is that it won't need much watering and prefers to stay on the dry side. Lavender doesn't only adorn your garden, but also has many practical uses from attracting bees to being the base for essential oils. If you're looking to make your lavender grow bigger and bushier faster, a gardener has a 45p hack you can try. HOSEPIPE BAN watering gardens filling paddling pools, hot tubs or swimming pools washing cars, patios, or windows Hosepipe ban for MILLIONS more Brits as fourth water firm is days from imposing restrictions Anyone who doesn't follow the hosepipe ban faces an up to £1,000 fine under the Management Act 2010. All four major water firms are yet to confirm the end date for the hosepipe ban. Up to five more regions could be in a drought by September, according to the Environment Agency. It comes after the Environment Agency declared the Solent and South Downs areas as experiencing "prolonged dry weather" and following the UK being hit with the driest spring in over 100 years. Thames Water said: "This year, the UK experienced one of its warmest and driest springs in over a century. "June was also England 's warmest on record. The Environment Agency has put our area into the prolonged dry weather category. "That's why we need to bring in a hosepipe ban. "It will help protect the environment and make sure there's enough water to go around this summer." MORE LIDL BARGAINS Plus, a viral tan from Lidl has proven to be a fan favourite this summer season. Lidl also has a 55p caffeine drink that fans say could rival the likes of Starbucks.
BBC News
12-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Gloucestershire in pictures: Stunning skies and lavender fields
Yet another heat wave hit Gloucestershire this week - and the views have been beautiful. We have seen golden hours, charity walks and fields and fields of lavender. Take a browse through some of our favourite moments of the week in this corner of the world. Golden hour: What a beautiful start to any day! This photo was taken at the start of the day this week at Berkeley by our weather watcher, SantaSusie. Nothing beats a sunny Gloucestershire morning, does it? Among the wildflowers: What a stunning view at Cotswold Lavender. It is now peak season for them as visitors from all over the world come flooding in. They opened up early this year because of the heat. It meant that the lavender came out early so they had to get the gates open slightly earlier than normal. One foot in front of the other: GWR colleagues have been walking up and down Gloucester train station's platform through the night in pairs to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK and support colleagues living with the disease. Clever work: This picture — taken by photographer Still Photo Malone — is essentially lots of photos stacked on top of each other, 217 photos to be exact, with a 30-second exposure on photos were taken over a two hour period between midnight and 0200 BST at the Old Severn Railway Bridge. Up in the clouds: This is how the Missing Link project is looking on the A417 - taken from a 1940s Boeing Stearman biplane by Martyn £460m scheme will end up being a three-mile dual carriageway between Gloucester and Cirencester. Never enough: We are loving the sunrise photos this week. Look at this sky in Colesbourne earlier this week.
Associated Press
11-07-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Lavender With a Legacy: How Traditional Medicinals Brings Summer Calm From Field to Cup
This Summer, Stress Relief Is in Bloom Whether you're navigating summer travel or prepping for back-to-school routines, you're not alone in seeking calm. National wellness trends show a spike in demand for natural stress relief, sleep support, and daily rituals that restore balance. That's where lavender shines. At Traditional Medicinals, we've sourced lavender for decades—not just for its soothing aroma, but for its botanical integrity and therapeutic strength. At Traditional Medicinals, we believe that crafting effective herbal wellness products begins long before the tea bag is sealed. It starts in the soil, with the growers, the ecosystems, and the traditions that inform how our herbs are cultivated and harvested. From the Hills of Austria to Your Evening Ritual Our organic lavender is grown by Hans and Hans Pietr, a father-son team who converted their 600-acre farm in Austria to organic after witnessing the toll conventional farming took on their health and land. Today, 260 hectares of their property are certified organic, and 40 acres are dedicated to cultivating camphor-rich lavender for Traditional Medicinals. Lavender thrives in rocky soil and requires expert care to retain its aroma and therapeutic qualities. With the support of Waldland, a farmer-owned cooperative, the Pietrs have fine-tuned their harvesting and drying practices to preserve the highest quality, something we verify with every batch. What Calms Us Shouldn't Harm the Planet Lavender is just one of over 100 botanicals we source with intention. Across every sourcing partnership—from wild collectors to organic farmers—we prioritize regenerative practices, traditional plant knowledge, and multi-year relationships that uplift communities and ecosystems. Through multi-year partnerships and advanced planning, we've cultivated a supplier network that allows us to invest in people, protect ecosystems, and ensure consistent medicinal quality. Our herbs are tested not only to meet U.S. regulatory requirements but also to uphold certifications such as USDA Organic. The Future of Wellness Is Transparent, Ethical, and Effective Integrity at Traditional Medicinals isn't just about what goes into the cup. It's about how the plants were grown, how the people behind them were treated, and how the planet is respected in the process. In an era of greenwashing and quick fixes, we've spent 50 years modeling what ethical sourcing and functional herbal products can truly look like. This summer, as consumers seek better sleep, lower stress, and mindful rituals, we're proud to offer teas that meet the moment, crafted with purpose, backed by science, and rooted in relationships.* Because wellness should feel good and do good, too. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Traditional Medicinals
