Loads of lavender gives a Mediterranean flavour
Growing lavender is a snip, but which varieties should you grow? Lavender is eternal. It makes us think of sewing lavender sachets for Christmas presents and century-old cottages with lavender-filled gardens.
This Mediterranean member of the mint family is still one of our most popular and versatile garden plants.
It can be grown in pots, as a ground cover or border or a hedge. It’s also a favourite with bees, so growing it is a virtue.
Growing instructions
Lavender is happiest in sandy, stony soils – wet, clay soils are its nemesis (particularly for the variety angustifolia), so if this is your situation, work sand and grit into the soil to avoid root rot and fungal infections.
If you experience particularly humid summers and lavender has failed previously, grow it in a pot. Deadhead during the growing season and give them a hard prune (by one-third) once a year to stop them from getting woody.
Varieties
There are 47 known species and more than 450 varieties.
The common names English lavender and French lavender for certain species are rather misleading as English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia )is actually from Catalonia and the Pyrenees, while French lavenders (applied to dentata and stoechas species) hail from Mediterranean countries.
Angustifolia is said to have the best fragrance and is best for cooking.
Plants have greyish-green narrow leaves and are relatively
compact. ‘Munstead’ and ‘Hidcote’ (one of the darkest flowering lavenders) are popular but in a study by the Chicago Botanic Garden, which focused on cold hardiness and adaptability to wet, clay soils, ‘Munstead’ performed better.
Rivalling angustifolia varieties for scent is Lavandula x intermedia, also known as lavandin. ‘Grosso’ is the most popular lavandin and because it has branched stems it produces more flowers per head, making it one of the most popular varieties for oil extraction.
Stoechas lavenders are characterised by their sterile bracts that resemble bunny ears. They’re said to be the least fragrant of the lavenders but they’re also the toughest. Try ‘Major’, ‘Pukehou’ or the Ruffles series from Gardening Solutionz, available at garden centres.
Dentata (Latin for ‘‘toothed’’) is also hardy and can cope with drought and frost. It’s the tallest lavender, growing up to 1.5m, making it ideal for hedges. It has a lighter, rosemary-like scent.
Drying lavender
Harvest lavender after a couple of days of dry weather, after any morning dew has evaporated. Cut flowers just above the leaves, tie bunches together and hang them in a dry, dark place – away from moisture – for a month.
In the kitchen
Try lavender shortbread, or make lavender honey by stirring together, over a low heat, 2 dozen fresh lavender blossoms (or 1 tablespoon dried flowers) with 1 cup honey.
Remove, cover and leave at room temperature for a day, then warm until it is liquid enough to pour through a sieve into a jar.
– NZ Gardener