Aromatic silver leaves and vibrant blue blooms define lavender , immediately transporting you to the sunstruck Mediterranean shoring . This iconic perennial bush thrives in dry garden , offering fragrant flower stiletto heel in shades of blue , empurpled , lily-white , and pink . Beyond its calming fragrance , lavender buzzes with lifetime in the garden .
search closely , and you ’ll see butterfly and humblebee flutter from bloom to bloom , drawn by the plant ’s allure .
Lavender has left its mark on our cultures , shaping our senses and turning huge fields into lackadaisical purple expanses . From April to October , reckon on the sort , lavender ’s tufts brighten gardens in recurrent beds , standalone show , border , rockeries , and sun - swamp terraces . They even flourish in pots , forming vibrant and fragrant hedging .
Lavender belong to to theLamiaceaefamily , tight related to sage , thyme , and rosemary . Originating from the sunstruck , stony regions of the Mediterranean and extend to India and Southeast Asia , theLavandulagenus comprises 28 known species and 450 clear-cut cultivars and hybrids . The main types admit include English , French ( or Spanish ) , Portuguese , and lavandin , each varieties with its singular characteristics , fragrances , bet , and care needs .
The real challenge ? Picking the correct lavender eccentric for your climate and space .
Wondering which lavender to introduce to your garden ?
To help oneself you pinpoint the perfect lavender salmagundi that aligns with your garden ’s conditions and your preferences , we ’ve put together a visual guide We ’ve put together a visual pathfinder showcasing the different lavender types as well as the dear assortment for each category .
General Lavender Care
While each variety will have its own indigence , there are some guidelines you should play along for all lavender :
sunshine picture : Lavender always need full Sun , which meansat least6 hour of direct and undimmed sunlight every 24-hour interval .
Humidity : Lavender does not like humid atmosphere ; it likes juiceless region , and , if summertime get squiffy , it may become moldy and lose fragrance .
dirt : Lavender is very special about dirt :
Pruning : Your lavender will bloom more smartly of you clip it back in the spring . Only cut back till you see one-time growth ( the branch has become woody ) . Do not disregard the sometime increase .
20 Favorite Lavender Varieties You’ll Love To Grow In Your Garden
Before I usher in you to my favorite cultivars , you should sleep together that these Dominicus - do it anthesis plant life are classified by botanists into 5 main character , based on their color , bloom times and hardiness zona of .
study on to expose 20 of my favourite types of lilac plant , what the plants of a particular smorgasbord of lavender look like , when they bloom , and what conditions they thrive in your garden .
English lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia)
English lavender is scientifically call Lavandula angustifolia . It is one of the most common case of lavender also because it is more dauntless than other species , and this is why it is called “ English ” , not because it is original of the British Isles , but because it can turn there . English lavender has some authoritative characteristic :
Once called Lavandula officinalis ( a typical name given to plants used in medicine ) , there are many varieties of English lavender that have become very unwashed .
1. ‘Hidcote’ English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Hidcote’)
‘ Hidcote ’ is one of the most popular English lavender types in the world . It has long live bloom of benighted purple prime that have an unmistakable and very stiff scent .
Unlike other types of lavender , however , it will bloom profusely but only once , from later spring into the former summertime .
This is an great plant life , success of the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society , especially if you require to apply it in perimeter or hedges , but also if you wish to track slopes , or if you call for so sour purpleness in your flower beds .
first-class for all type of informal gardens ( including city , courtyard and gravel gardens ) , ‘ Hidcote ’ lavender will also look and smell great in grass and containers .
2. ‘Alba Nana’ English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Alba Nana’)
This “ dwarf dawn ” diversity of English lavender ( that ’s what the name means ) will mix its beautiful candid and white flower with the most soothing scent in the earth , and its bantam size makes it perfect for containers and pots , terrace garden and bench . It will also contribute an manifest fragrance to white gardens or rock music garden though , and it too has won the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society .
3.‘Munstead’ English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Munstead’)
This kind of English lavender has “ noble ” descent when it come to gardening , actually , royalty , as it was bring out in 1916 by Gertrude Jekill !
It is a variety of lavender with a compact riding habit and very well defines flower with five understandably visible petals whose color is of a light rosy purple shade .
Of of course , having get a line the name of Gertrude Jekill you will think that this lilac motley is excellent for borders , and it is , but it will also suit rock gardens and herb gardens , which it will enrich with its restful aroma .
4. Pink English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Rosea’)
To the secure but calming fragrance of English lavender , this diversity , ‘ Rosea ’ will add an copiousness of pale garden pink ( sometimes off white ) flowers . It is , in fact , one of the most generous bloomers of the entire lavender genus .
This makes it perfect for romantic hedges and mete , in any case of informal garden .
5. ‘Thumbelina Leigh’ English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Thumbelina Leigh’)
‘ Thumbelina Leigh ’ is a variety of English lavender with a especial gardening and ocular value because the inflorescence are inadequate and buddy-buddy , made up of fewer flowers than other lilac eccentric .
They will appear at the top of prospicient stems , and will count like violet purple plump plumes high above the foliage .
This reach this lavender mora suitable to even less stately garden than other types , as it will attend less “ savage ” , and also for containers and flower beds where you bid the blooms to stand out .
6. ‘Folgate’ English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Folgate’)
With Graeco-Roman dark empurpled flowers , this variety of lavender is well known for its generosity and the thick blooms it will produce in spring .
The flowering themselves are regular for an English lavender variety , but ‘ Folgate ’ will originate rafts of them!So , this is an excellent filler of color and scent to delimitation , hedges , and seam , and a plant you could safely rely upon to fall up your garden with a richness of people of colour that can make all the deviation .
And that ’s maybe why the Royal Horticultural Society give it the Award of garden Merit in 2012 .
7.‘Little Lottie’ English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Little Lottie’)
If you desire a sweet cheeky variety of English lavender , ‘ Little Lottie ’ is a bite “ unlike ” from her sister because the flowers are of two colors : some are white and some light magenta , and they mix in the inflorescences , form innumerable combination of whiteness and soft feelings . This insure the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society for ‘ Little Lottie ’ in 2002 , and has made her one of the most pop varieties of English lavender for pot and container .
8. ‘Royal Velvet’ English Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Royal Velvet’)
The spikes of this kind of English lavender have an upright habit and they can be 4 inches longsighted ( 10 centimetre ) .
However , what makes ‘ Royal Velvet ’ stand up out is its long lasting thick and sinister navy amobarbital sodium to dark reddish blue flowers , which also have a velvety texture .
‘ Royal Velvet ’ will fill edge , hedging , efflorescence bed and container with a depth of color and feeling , and a impressiveness of scent like few other flowering plants can do .
French (Spanish) Lavender (Lavandula stoechas)
No land is more associated with lavender than France ; in the South of France , in fact , you could literally sense lavender in the streets , not just in those beautiful fields with long rows of perfumed peak we all see in postcard . But things are not so easy : Lavandula stoechas usually goes by the common name of French lavender , but in the USA it also holler Spanish lavender .
On the other deal , it is common to call Lavandula dentata “ Gallic lavender ” in the USA , but most usually fuck as fringed lavender . So , we are talking about two species . And here are their characteristics .
On the other paw , fringe lavender , or Lavandula dentata :
9.French Lavender ‘Anouk’ (Lavandula stoechas ‘Anouk’)
Of all the salmagundi of French lavender , ‘ Anouk ’ is ( one of ) the most showy , as it has very big ears at the top of florescence that really make it stand out .
They are of a brilliant and very beautiful subtlety of Battle of Magenta , and they are openhanded enough to see the vein in them .
The fore with the inflorescences have an upright habit , which piddle the ear pop out of the foliage like rabbits peaking out of the grass , and the leaves too are aromatic .
It is a very persistent bloomer , pure for margin , hedging , flower layer but also patio and terraces , and it looks even better when it attracts butterflies !
10. ‘Ballerina’ French lavender (Lavandula stoechas ‘Ballerina’)
A very sporty French lavender variety , ‘ Ballerina ’ too has upright stanch , but they have forgetful and rather chubby spike of bass reddish blue over-embellished heyday and big , refined white ears on top!This is the salmagundi you desire on your patio or terrace in containers if you wish well to wow your guests with a very strange , yet mint variety of lavender , though it will arise well also in rock gardens , borders and flower beds . ‘Ballerina ’ is a winner of the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society .
11. French Lavender ‘With Love’ (Lavandula stoechas ‘With Love’)
“ Elegance ” and “ division ” are the words that bounce to mind when you see French lavender ‘ With Love ” , a beautiful variety with unusually gullible foliation , then plump and short spikes of a cerise - purple color and ears of the most soft pinkish , almost white , with bright Battle of Magenta mineral vein in them .
Another smorgasbord of Gallic lavender to evince your originality , either in pots on your terrace and patio or in strongly aromatic flower beds or border .
12. ‘Regal Splendour’ French Lavender (Lavandula stoechas ‘Regal Splendour’)
If you want to showcase the elegance of French lavender in bay window or containers on your bench or terrace , or if you require a sense of touch of royalty in your borders and hedge , then ‘ Regal Splendour ’ is what you are after !
This is a salmagundi with thick violet blue spikes and recollective and unsloped deep Battle of Magenta bracts or auricle , which look a bit like “ fairy crowns ” on top of straits among the leaf .
13. ‘Pretty Polly’ French lavender (Lavandula stoechas ‘Pretty Polly’)
With foresightful white ear on top of spike with regularly space , deep purple flowers with a bright yellow center , ‘ Pretty Polly ’ has also pull ahead the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society , and you may for sure see the value of this very redolent prize winner both in containers or in your borders or flower beds …
14. Butterfly Lavender ‘Papillon’ (Lavandula pedunculata subsp. pedunculata)
A lesser do it species , not belonging to the classical Lavandula stoechas , it has something in common with Gallic lavender , because it too has pinna , or bracts , but …
They appear very pointy and rebellious , unlike the big 1 of classical Gallic lavender … So , if you image a lilac-colored works that say , “ I am unlike , ” in a pernicious mode , the small regal spikes with unruly looking Battle of Magenta ear on top may be what you have been looking for . Its originality must be why this diversity won the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural society in 2002 .
15.Fringed Lavender (Lavandula dentata)
Although fringed lavender has a weak aroma and heyday that are not particularly showy ( still beautiful , with majestic ears on top ) , it is much appreciated for the plastic and decorative ribbing ( or teeth ) of its silvery green leaves .
In fact , you may use it to add grain to your beds , borders , hedges or even rock garden or grow it for its leafage ( and bloom ) in pots and container .
Portuguese Lavender (Lavandula latifolia)
Broadleaved lavender , spiked lavender or Lavandula latifolia is also have it off as Lusitanian lavender . Despite its many name , it is one species only . It is a type of lavender that comes from the Mediterranean , hump for its olfactory property and redolent properties , but if you produce it , keep it separate from English lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia ) . This is necessary for two reasons :
What are the machine characteristic of Lusitanian lavender ?
16. Portuguese Lavender (Lavandula latifolia)
With typically violet flowers in regular spikes , the inflorescence of Portuguese lavender is very refined if not showy individually . The shrub , however , will form expectant clumps of smooth-spoken green leave with violet spikes growing good in the heart , and arc on the sides . It is a very generous industrial plant that can be naturalise well or used in informal hedges , border or flower layer , where it will bring a classical lavender look , which can be made to appear very born indeed .
Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia)
Lavandin , the most fragrant lavenderplantis really a intercrossed plant , Lavandula x intermedia , and it is what you hold intersect English lavender with Lusitanian lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia with Lavandula latifolia ) it can come about naturally , as we have seen , or don e by growers , botanists and gardeners .
This eccentric of lavender too has some particular characteristics :
17. ‘Provence Lavandin’ (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Provence’)
Provence is , in all the humanity , the region we most affiliate with lavender , so , what good name for a classical - looking variety than the name of this terra firma ?
The flower heads are quite braggy , 3 inches long ( 8 cm ) , and of a deep violet purple shade , and they loom stunning even when they are in bud .
If you do not hold out in a very ironic area , ‘ Provence ’ may be your best option , as it is well known for being the ripe variety for humid summers .
So , even if you do not survive in sunny Spain , you too can have the mantrap and scent of lavender in your birders or hedges .
18. ‘Grosso’ Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’)
A marvelous plant to cover gradient very fast , as it os a fast and vigorous grower , lavandin ‘ Grosso ’ also has very long spikes of flower ( 6 inches long , or 15 cm ) of that typical reddish blue shadiness we associate with lavender .
Despite being ha unattackable plant , its riding habit is quite elegant , with many long stems grow side by side but in a fairly thin way , so as never to give the idea of a “ crammed ” shrub , which will add a feeling of elegance and harmony to your garden .
19. ‘Phenomenal’ Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Phenomenal’)
If you want a dull , rich and luxurious effect in your garden , have a look at ‘ Phenomenal ’ lavandin , which , on top of most fragrant lavender industrial plant , will give you a deep vibrant violet purple chromaticity and a deep bush with many flower spikes .
20. ‘Hidcote Giant’ lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Hidcote Giant’)
strange for a lavandin variety , ‘ Hidcote Giant ’ has a very big , embonpoint and thick spindle of Battle of Magenta to violet purplish flowers that can really be showy individually .
The whole spike make about 4 inch in distance , which is 10 cm .
A very cosmetic cultivar that accommodate well to city and courtyard gardens as well as patios or containers , and which looks less “ naturalized ” and more “ garden eye ” and urban than other lavandin sort , ‘ Hidcote Giant ’ win the Award of Harden Merit if the Royal Horticultural Society in 2002 .
Lavender Is Indeed the Plant of Dreams…
English , French or Spanish , Lusitanian or lavandin , lavender is a special industrial plant . It can turn whole fields into oases of serenity and beauty ; it is the all prison term favorite of pollinator , and this alone throw her special among plants …
It creates ocean of beauty and colouring material and , well placed in your garden , it can turn it into a brumous but glittering aspiration …
Maybe it is thanks to its uplift aroma , maybe that extragalactic nebula of violet flowers …
with lavender , really , the divide between waking and quiescence becomes blur , and with her , we all slip off into a fantastic , light and passive domain of pipe dream …
Written By
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town , San Mateo . She holds a maestro ’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a barn in Biology from the University of San Francisco . With experience working on an organic farm , water conservation enquiry , farmers ’ marketplace , and plant nursery , she understands what make plant life flourish and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant wellness . When she ’s not on the land , Amber loves informing people of newfangled theme / affair interrelate to gardening , peculiarly organic horticulture , houseplants , and growing plant in a small space .
