Lavender is a stunning plant known for its soothing fragrance and vibrant purple blooms. If you've got one in the garden, you can boost its growth this spring by adding one natural ingredient into the soil.

Jean, a gardener and founder of Green Jeane, accidentally used poor quality sand in the soil mixture for her herb plants, but was surprised to discover her lavender continued to flourish despite the mistake. The secret behind the lavender plant's success was that Jean had mixed eggshells into its soil, and this organic fertiliser had kept the flower strong. She said: "The lavender also had some of that old sandy mix but also lots of eggshells mixed in, so it was doing much better and I didn't bother to remove the sand when repotting it."

She added: "I'm amazed at how much bigger and healthier the lavender looks!"

While it might sound unusual, eggshells are rich in calcium which strengthens plants and enhances soil drainage to stop lavender becoming oversaturated with water.

Lavender thrives in neutral to mildly alkaline soil, meaning they respond well to eggshells, which help lower acidity levels in the ground.

Jean recommended eggs as a straightforward and organic method to nourish lavenders for anyone wanting to improve their soil quality, though she warned that gathering enough eggshells can be a pain.

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She said: "My favourite amendment to lighten soil is simply dried and crushed eggshells. I like using Perlite, but it's very dusty and of course you have to buy it.

Jean added: "The only downside to using eggshells is that you have to be patient and save up a lot (or eat lots of eggs!) but I don't repot that often, so I usually have just enough."

Simply rinse the eggshells after cooking to remove any lingering yolk residue, as any food remnants can attract pests and smell bad.

Jean said: "If you're going to use eggshells, be sure to rinse them first and dry thoroughly (a day or two) before crushing. Sticky membranes and yolk reside left inside the shell will make it clump together and have an odour."

Once you've collected enough eggshells, arrange them on a baking tray and place them in the oven at 200C for 10 to 15 minutes.

After this time, use a rolling pin or similar implement to crush the eggshells into small pieces. Drying out and crushing eggshells is crucial as it speeds up their decomposition, allowing the lavender to absorb the nutrients more effectively.

The sharp, jagged eggshell fragments can also help repel numerous pests including slugs, snails and other insects from approaching your lavender plants, keeping them protected.

You'll only need one to two tablespoons of eggshells to see the benefit. Feed them once in spring and again in summer - excessive nutrients in the soil can lead to overfertilisation and potentially scorch the plant roots.

Investing the time to create dried crushed eggshells will keep your plants healthy, enhance the soil and deter certain pests, ensuring your flowers flourish throughout spring.