Many urban farming and vegetable gardening books include lavender as a staple plant, but “The Lavender Lover’s Handbook” provides much greater detail on the particular needs and benefits of these sub-shrubs. Sarah Berringer Bader is a lavender farmer in western Oregon and shares her expertise on selection, planting, maintaining, harvesting, and–yes!–cooking with lavender. Best is her selection of cultivars for various purposes such as best scent, richest color (in various hues), or in a landscape. She even includes the best choices for using in her recipes. An encyclopedia of available varieties is quite thorough and enhanced by Janet Loughrey’s skilled photography.
Excerpted from the Winter 2013 Arboretum Bulletin.