Lavender is Portugal’s national flower and holds a special place in the country’s heart. With its delicate purple blooms and soothing fragrance, it has become an emblem of Portugal’s natural beauty.
The lavender flower was chosen in recognition of the Alentejo region’s lavender fields – some of Europe’s largest and most beautiful. But the plant thrives all over the country, from the sun-kissed fields of the Algarve to the high rocky gardens of Madeira. And lavender is not just a pretty face. It’s become a symbol of resilience and perseverance because of its ability to withstand the harshest of weather conditions while always looking serene and beautiful.
When it comes to interior decorating, lavender is an often-overlooked colour. In fact, purple in all its shades is something we’re a little bit scared of. I think we see its deeper tones as a bit mysterious and intimidating, and its lighter ones are a touch sickly, like those violet creams my auntie used to love. When I told my husband I was doing a feature on purple this month, he said, “Yuck”. I thought that was a bit of an extreme reaction, but dark questions do loom when you think of purple. What colours go with it? Is it a bit witchy? Will it look like my granny’s bedroom? These doubts draw us away from purple and into the safety of pink or blue instead.
But fear not, and ignorant husbands aside, lavender is a gentle shade that conjures the beauty of nature and is perfect for relaxing spaces, bringing a touch of colour without overwhelming a room. Not only does it create a calm environment, but it’s also associated with spiritual growth and creativity, so bringing this uplifting colour into your home might just inspire your next big idea …
The colour purple has been associated with royalty since ancient times. A regal colour symbolising extravagance and wealth, something for gilded palace hallways and hunting lodges rather than humble homes or contemporary interiors. This is partly down to the fact that purple was the costliest dye in history and commoners couldn’t afford it.
The first purple produced was Tyrian purple, created by the Phoenicians from the mucus of Mediterranean sea snails. Making the dye was a complex process that involved extracting the liquid while the molluscs were still alive and exposing them to sunlight until they became vivid purple. About 250,000 snails were needed to make a single ounce of purple dye. Since it took so many snails to produce the tiniest amount, the colour became extremely valuable and reserved for use by royalty, priests and nobles. In Rome, the Caesars declared it their official colour and claimed exclusive rights to its production.
The monopoly on purple all changed in 1856 when chemist William Henry Perkins accidentally developed the first synthetic dye, a shade of purple later named mauve. From then on, we’ve all been free to paint our homes as purple as we like, but it seems we’re still shying away from the colour.
I think purple can be a fantastic choice if you’re careful and pick the right shade. Go too blue, and a room can be cold and austere; too red and the space feels cloying. A warm but muted lavender makes the perfect grown-up alternative to pastel pink. It can give a room some character while being soothing, creating an environment that’s graceful but with a slightly whimsical and original feel.
Your home can benefit from the smell, the medicinal properties and even the taste of lavender as well as the colour. Lavender has long been known to aid sleep, and reduce pain and inflammation. The botanical name for lavender – Lavandula – comes from the Latin lavare, which means “to wash” and the Romans loved a hot bath brimming with the stuff. In modern times, essential lavender oil has been found to be a powerful antiseptic that can not only heal wounds but also kill typhoid and offer an effective antidote for some snake venoms.
There are 45 different species of lavender, and the Portuguese Giant is a variety that gives off the most pungent smell and has the most vibrant colour. The oil from Portuguese lavender is also prized as being particularly antibacterial and antiviral. Some varieties of lavender can be used in the kitchen, too – culinary lavender is a versatile herb belonging to the mint family, so it adds a freshness and zing. With a floral flavour and a citrus edge it brings a boost of taste in both sweet and savoury dishes. And if you like your food to look a bit arty and colourful, the flowers add the perfect theatrical flourish to a plate.
The majority of Portuguese lavenders will begin to flower next month and continue to grow in all their glory until late June. If you’re planning a day out this spring, a visit to the lavender farms of Alentejo is a feast for the senses, with the fields a blazing purple and the air thick with the heady scent.
If you fancy making friends with lavender, but you’re not ready to paint a wall purple or travel up north, you could always embrace it in a more gentle way… Bring some vases of lavender flowers into your living room, hang a lavender watercolour on the wall, make yourself a fresh lavender lemonade and bask in a bathroom filled with the aroma of lavender oil. Aaah, you feel relaxed already, don’t you?