Growing Lavender in the Southwest
All about Lavender
Lavender Species   
Cooking With Lavender &
Lavender Recipes    
 

Lavandula or Lavender, are shrubby perennials that boast gray or gray-green leaves, and fragrant lavender or purple flowers. Depending on the plant size or variety, lavender can be grown as a hedge, low screen, edging or used in borders with other drought tolerant plants such as rockrose, sunrose, rosemary, and verbena. Other companion plants include roses, Swiss chard, and eggplant. A perennial, it is best planted throughout your garden between September and March in areas that have sun and good drainage. Lavender needs little water or fertilizer. To keep the plant compact, prune after blooming. Harvest the stems just as the buds start to open. To rejuvenate the plant, prune a couple if inches of the leafy steam when you are harvesting the flowers. Lavender can also do well as a potted plant on balconies or patios.

Lavender also attracts a variety of butterflies - especially Skippers; and bees. It is also repels ants, aphids, caterpillars, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, moths, silverfish, crickets, grasshoppers, mice, rabbits, and more.

Lavender Species, Varieties, Hybrids, and Cultivars
By Judi Brady, of Rusty Acres Herb Farm - 'The Lavender Place'. Offering a variety of plants, gifts, foods, and spice blends, Rusty Acres is home to the Annual Lavender Festival held the last weekend of June, and Heirloom Tomato Tasting Festival every September. Located near Fallbrook & Temecula, visit them at 4233 Rosa Rancho Lane, Rainbow, CA, 92028-8380. Tel: (760) 731-7349, www.rustyacres.com.

Lavender belongs to the large plant family of mints, a botanical grouping distinguished by the square stems and, in many cases, remarkable fragrances. Its cousins include culinary and herbal tea mints, ornamental and cooking sages, marjoram's, thymes and horehounds.
Not all lavender shrubs are highly scented; some varieties are lovely garden specimens but have little fragrance. Others are insignificant to look at but are rich in aroma. The most popular species is English Lavender, which has over 40 named varieties. Colors of English Lavender range from purest white to pale pink, clear violet-blue to dark purple, even yellow green.
As evergreen shrubs, lavender also offers the gardener a wide assortment of form and foliage color. The smallest English lavenders can be sheared to tight herbal hedges only 6 to 12 inches tall. Other lavenders can grow to more than 4 feet tall. Lavender also comes in every size in between.
Almost every type of lavender has beautiful foliage, with colors ranging from dusty green to silver. A few species of lavenders have bright green leaves. Lavender leaves range from long and narrow, simple and coniferlike to lacy, fernlike, and ornate.
When choosing a species, be sure to look for the Latin name as well as the the botanical name. All lavenders belong to the genus Lavandula. There are 28 species of lavender, and each one is distinguished from one another by a different species name. The most popular lavenders fall into two basic groups. The first are all cultivars of the species Lavandula Augustifolia, and are often called English lavenders The second group is made up of hybrids between the English lavenders and another species, Lavandula Latifola and are called Lavandins. When appropriate, a plant’s botanical name includes a variety name. A variety is like a subdivision of the species due to naturally occurring or selectively bred plants that differ from the species in minor characteristics.

English Lavender               Lavandin               Spanish Lavender       
French Lavender              Spike Lavender

English Lavender ( also called "true" lavender) Lavandula angustifolia:
This is the hardiest of all lavenders, enduring winter temperatures down to minus 20 degrees. The average flower head shows 6 to 10 whorls of flower buds stretched along the stem beneath the main head. English Lavender has the sweetest scent of all species. It is the source of the highest quality oil for soaps and perfumes and is used as a flavoring in ice cream, sorbets, baked desserts, and candied flowers. English lavender is highly prized for its scent: both its leaves and stems as well as blossoms are fragrant.
Here are some of the most popular of its 40 varieties.
Alba pure white
Buena Vista dark purple
Compacta light purple
Croxton’s Wild light purple
Graves light purple
Hidcote very dark purple
Hidcot Pink rosy pink
Irene Doyle light purple
Jean Davis pinkish white
Lavender lady light purple
Martha Roderick light purple
Melissa pale lavender
Munstead intense blue
Nana Alba green/white
Premier dark purple
Rosea green/light pink
Royal Velvet very dark purple
Seals Seven Oaks light purple
Sharon Roberts dark purple
Twickel Purple purple
Wycoff deep blue

Lavandin is a natural interspecific hybrid of English lavender and spike lavender. The lavandin cultivar Grosso was discovered in 1972. In the United States, the oil of lavandin Grosso is becoming popular as the superior lavender aroma for soaps, room fresheners, scented candles and culinary uses. Provence is the other more popluar Lavandin and is used in much the same way as the Grosso but has a sweeter aroma. Because Provence is culinairly stronger you may want to cut down on the amount called for in recipes. Other lavandin hybrids to watch for are Abrailii, Alaba, Dutch, Fred Boutin, Grappenhall, Grey Hedge, Old English, Seal, Silver Gray, Standard and Super.

Spanish Lavender ( also sold as French Lavender or Italian Lavender) its botanical name is Lavandula Stoechas. Spanish lavender is noted for its deep purple flowers topped with elongated petals which resemble miniature pineapples. Both the leaves and flowers are very fragrant and smell much like rosemary. This variety is idea for making potpourris and sachets, for seasoning meats grilled over hardwood charcoal and for using in floral arrangements.

French Lavender (also sold as Spanish lavender, ringed lavender) its botanical name is Lavandula Dentata. French lavender has pale blue-purple flowers with a finely toothed, fernlike gray-green leaf. It grows up to 3 feet tall and is very vigorous, flowering several times during the year. Both its leaves and flowers are fragrant. Heavy flavor reminiscent of both rosemary and sage. Grilling chicken with the foliage produces a unique flavor that you will love or hate. Fragrance creates a pleasant clean smell in the home.

Spike Lavender ( also called Dutch lavender and lesser lavender) its botanical name is Lavandula Latifolia or L. Spica. Spike lavender has pale to medium violet and darker purple flowers with large silver gray leaves. Its scent contains a hint of spice and camphor in addition to the lavender scent. It’s very fragrant and one of the lavenders commonly used for perfume.