Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’ (Lavender)

A great pick! Compact, and extremely fragrant with rosy purple flowers, Lavender ‘Munstead’ (Lavandula angustifolia) is very attractive throughout the year. Introduced in 1916 by the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, this small cultivar grows well in containers and is a great choice for hedges or knot gardens. Excellent for potpourris or dried arrangements as it retains its color.

• Fairly hardy, ‘Munstead’ is loved by gardeners for its long-lasting and delightful scent as well as the fashion in which its lavender flowers beautifully contrast with its gray-green foliage.
• Blooms twice starting in late spring or early summer. Lavenders blooming twice are known to have a full second flush of blooms after the flowers of the first bloom have been harvested.
• Evergreen in warm winter climates, it typically grows in a compact bushy mound up to 20-24 in. tall (50-60 cm) and spreads 24-30 in. (60-75 cm).
• This Lavender is very versatile and can also be used in perennial borders, rock gardens, or herb gardens. Its fragrant flowers may be dried and used in potpourris. Spectacular effect in mass plantings.
• Thrives in full sun and performs best in dry to medium, poor, light, sandy, and well-drained soils. Excellent drainage and air circulation are essential, specifically in hot, humid climates.
• Trim back in spring to encourage bushier growth. Remove spent blooms to encourage new blooms.
• Toxic to dogs, toxic to cats, toxic to horses.

English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), also called True Lavender or Common Lavender, is a type of lavender often associated with the famous purple lavender fields of Provence. Despite its common name, it is not native to England, but to the Mediterranean and counts over 40 different cultivars with flower spikes varying from blue-purple, lavender, violet-blue to white-pink. They create drifts of “cool” colors that sway elegantly in the summer breeze atop a beautifully contrasting gray-green to green-purple foliage of narrow leaves. Growing up to 2-3 ft. tall (60-90 cm), this Lavender type is great for formal or informal edging perennial along walkways, raised walls, and borders; also planted in beds, rock gardens, and in mass plantings. This is also the “queen of herbs” for herb gardens.