Lavandin

Lavandin is the lavender of the postcards. The vast purple fields of Provence that stretch to the horizon are almost all lavandin, not true lavender, because lavandin is bigger, hardier and gives five times the oil. It is louder than its parent, and there are compositions where loud is exactly right.

What lavandin is

Lavandin, Lavandula x intermedia, is a natural hybrid of true lavender and spike lavender that appeared where the two species overlap on the hills. It cannot set seed and is propagated by cuttings. The oil is steam distilled from the flowering tops in July and August and is richer in camphor and cineole than true lavender, which gives it a fresh, sharp, almost minty edge over the familiar floral heart.

Where our lavandin comes from

Our lavandin comes from France, from the broad plateaus of Provence where the hybrid is grown at lower altitude than true lavender, across the plains of Valensole and the Drôme. The heat of these open plateaus suits the plant and pushes its camphor higher, which is precisely what gives French lavandin its agrestic, sunlit character. It smells of the field at noon rather than the field at dawn. Distilleries dot the region, and the harvest is cut and distilled within the same days.

How lavandin smells

Agrestic, floral and camphoraceous. It has the floral core of lavender wrapped in a brighter, sharper freshness, with a green herbal quality that reads as hillside rather than garden.

Lavandin in our chapter

• IIParadis de BleuThe Leaves · in the opening

  In Paradis de Bleu it is the aromatic heart of the opening, the green Provençal light that sets the tone for a chapter built on leaves, herbs and moss.

A note from the atelier

I would never put lavandin above oud, where true lavender belongs. But in Paradis de Bleu, among fennel, thyme and juniper, its louder voice is what holds the chorus together.

Questions about lavandin