Every herb garden must have its laurel.
The laurel is a not completely winter-hardy (till –5 °C) tree. An elegant evergreen tree, native to the Mediterranean region, which grows up to 40ft high and 30ft wide. Its small, dark green, round leaves are glossy on the top and reach a length from 0,7 to 3,9 inches. This diecious tree produces yellow flowers in spring, followed by round berries that ripen to dark black in fall.

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Warning

Never confuse the real laurel with prunus laurocerasus (cherry laurel), usually planted as a hedge. The latter one is very poisonous.
Make sure when purchasing that you buy the right plant, by buying it from a garden centre provided with a quality label.

Uses

Kitchen

The strong aromatic flavouring leaves increase the enjoyment of your meals.
One or two leaves are enough to spice your stews, marinades, pate, soups, fish and meat dishes and flans. The laurel leaf is essential for herb vinegar and sauces to produce that one specific taste. A ‘bouquet garnie’: aurel, thyme and parsley are essential to flesh and fowl.
The true gourmet cook always has dried or fresh leaves at his disposal.
Laurel flavours the rice grains in your rice meal and it keeps insects at a distance.

In medicine

Brewed into tea as a remedy in case of bronchitis and nasal infection. It also aids the digestion.
Also as ointment for ulcers, artritis, dermatitis and mosquito bites.
Used in aromatherapy to strengthen memory.

Potpourri

Scent your room and create the perfect atmosphere.
Get away with this terrible cigarette smoke, left by visitors.

Perfumery

As Soap “Savon d’Alep”, very efficient, or simply as soap or toothpaste, particularly in men’s perfumes (after-shaves).

Decoration

As a terrace plant or placed at your front door, as a pruned plant.
In the shape of a pyramid, as a bush or a ball at trunk to well-formed stems, the laurel makes your garden stand out well.
Also marriages, receptions and openings are flourished up by laurel.

Laurel has different symbolic values :

For my sweetheart (everlasting love), for the victors (the Romans already made laurel wreaths), for someone who has received his degree,
It is known to be a plant with status, the laurel also used to be placed at both sides of a door, to avert evil spirits. The nobel plant is presumed to be a lightning rod. In short, a laurel as a gift to someone, the idea only has to cross your mind