English lavender
Valued for its perfume and oil, as well as those glorious shades of blue, English lavender illuminates the summer garden, says JENNIFER STACKHOUSE
During a summer family holiday to Tasmania when my children, Rowan and Eleanor, were in primary school, I was bowled over by the flowers. So, apparently, were the kids. While we were all wandering along Arthur Circus, a historic precinct in Battery Point in Hobart, they were transfixed by one of the gardens and started pulling on my hands. No, they didn’t want to head back, they wanted to give me gardening advice.
“Mum,” they said, pointing to lavender, “you need to grow this at home – it is so beautiful.” They had to be stopped from picking the flowers. Like me, they loved everything lavender had to offer, from its beauty to its fragrance, and all the bees.
At that stage, home was at Kurrajong in the Blue Mountains, north-west of Sydney. Even there, away from the coast, English lavender isn’t the easiest of plants to grow, so instead I planted winter- and spring-flowering lavenders, including French lavender (Lavandula dentata) and varieties of Italian lavender (L. stoechas), as they cope well with humid conditions. Their display was lovely but never quite captured the fragrance and beauty of the English lavender we admired on that lovely Tassie holiday.
It wasn’t until we moved to Tasmania that I was able to carry out the kids’ gardening advice. We now have a lovely English lavender hedge that grows in front of a low picket fence. In summer, it is vibrant with stems of lavender-blue flowers that are fragrant and filled with busy bees. European honeybees and bumblebees forage among the flowers, which are also a favourite of butterflies and other insects. When the flowers have all finished, we clip the hedge to remove the spent stems. In winter, it is a neatly clipped grey hedge that turns grey-green with spring growth.
As well as using lavender as a hedge, or planting it to soften a fence or wall or to edge a path, it also looks beautiful in a cottage garden, especially when it’s combined with roses and iris.
GROWING TIPS
English lavender (L. angustifolia) needs a combination of sunshine, well-drained soil and low humidity to thrive. It is native to the Mediterranean region so it detests poor drainage and humidity. Wet and humid summers inevitably lead to root rot, dieback and rapid decline. English lavender grows well across southern Australia where the summers are dry, and in elevated regions, including the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
In less than optimum climates, grow English lavender in a terracotta pot with generous drainage holes in the base, using well-drained potting mix. Place the container in a spot with good air circulation and plenty of sunshine.
Although lavender is fairly unfussy about soil type, adding a handful of lime before planting into acidic soils can assist growth. Use an inorganic mulch of gravel around lavender and keep it free of weeds.
The final factor for a healthy lavender bush is careful pruning. Lavenders do not respond to hard pruning. A light trimming and shaping after flowering in late summer or early autumn keeps plants vigorous and youthful. Never prune back to old wood as it will not reshoot.
Even with the best care, lavender is not a forever plant. As the bush ages, it gradually declines, developing hard, grey wood that may become gnarled, so be ruthless and remove straggly plants. Replant with young, vigorous specimens, which will quickly grow to replace their predecessors. Lavender grows readily from semi-hardwood cuttings taken in autumn or soft tip cuttings taken in spring, so you can grow your own replacements.
English lavender is a neat shrub that grows 60–90cm high and up to 1.2m wide. Its flower spires of tiny flowers are shimmering lavender blue. Varieties include dwarf forms and those with pink flowers and nearly every blue and purple.
‘Munstead’ is a dwarf variety that’s often grown to edge a garden bed or a low wall, or as part of a traditional knot garden. It has a naturally compact habit and grows to about 30–60cm high. This is a plant with pedigree that was introduced by esteemed English garden designer, horticulturist and writer Gertrude Jekyll in 1916.
‘Loddon Blue’ is another compact variety grown for its deep purple-blue flowers. It reaches about 50cm tall. ‘Rosea’ has pink flowers on a bush 60–90cm high.
LAVENDER FARMS
As well as being very popular among home gardeners, lavender is also grown commercially for the production of its perfume and oil, and even as an edible plant. There are several large, commercial lavender farms in southern Australia
(see box, right) and these are the places where you can truly appreciate the beauty of lavender on a grand scale, if you visit in summer before the harvest begins.
Australia’s oldest commercial lavender farm is Bridestowe Lavender Estate in north-east Tasmania. The business was established in 1921 by London perfumer CK Denny, who brought seeds here from the southern French Alps. He viewed the climate of north-east Tasmania as similar to that of Provence, which is the ultimate lavender-growing region in France.
Peak viewing for English lavender in flower is early to mid January, although lavender farms are often open year-round and may feature other species that flower in winter and spring. Check when the harvest is planned so you can time your visit to see the best flowers.