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How to Grow Lavender Plants in the Garden

By Cheryl Jones

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Published: 14Mar2012
Word count: 516
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If you have never grown lavender plants in your garden or landscape, you are missing out on the most fragrant plants available. My experience with growing many different lavender varieties is that they are ever dedicated to making my garden a mysterious, magical wonderland and me a better person because of it. This may sound strange, but if you have ever grown lavender plants in your garden, you understand.

I have a small sitting area on the perimeter of my garden (next to the house) where I sit looking out over my garden. Lavender grows along the fence (its amazing as a low hedge) and in groups on the berm in front of the sitting area with more lavender plants sprinkled throughout the garden.

During summer and early fall evenings, there is this enchanted world right before my eyes. A soft summer evening breeze brings entrancing smells of lavender as nature comes to life. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are all attracted to the lavender buds. If a garden were an amusement park then lavender would certainly be the roller coaster.

The English Lavenders are early bloomers beginning in mid spring. Once they complete their first round of blooming, they typically begin again. So for all season blooming, plant Munstead, Hidcote and Jean Davis. The Hidcote Lavender variety grows especially well in cooler climates.

Spanish Lavenders typically bloom around mid to late spring. They are also referred to as Rabbit Ears or Butterfly Lavender because of the petals at the top of the bloom much like tiny pineapples. The blooms are not as sweet smelling as other lavender varieties so they will not attract swarms of flying insects, yet honeybees seem to enjoy them. This variety is note worthy, because it performs better in humid areas than other lavenders.

French Hybrids are cultivars of Lavandin (lavandula x intermedia) which are cultivated mostly in France for their oils. Both Grosso and Provence are excellent choices for strong fragrant buds and for craft projects such as drying for bouquets and wands. Grosso is especially cold hardy.

The favorite edible lavender varieties are Munstead, Jean Davis and Provence.

As with most other Mediterranean originating herbs, lavender prefer dry sandy soil. When planting in clay or other dense soil, dig the hole an inch or two deeper than the root system and fill that space with coarse sand for better drainage. Also, mix sand into the soil that will be filling in the hole around the root system. Allow the top part of the root system to sit just slightly above the ground.

The first year lavender should be kept clipped back so that it does not produce blooms. This forces all its energy into plant growth, creating beautiful large plants for the second growing season.

What better way to enjoy the fruits of your labor once your lavender begins blooming than to toast to your plants with a glass of wine. A French red table wine would be perfect as it also carries the taste of lavender in the wine.

Cheryl Jones writes articles on plants, plant care, gardening tips and landscaping ideas on her blog, GardeningwithCheryl.com. Her website, GreenwoodNursery.com, offers a great selection of plants including trees, flowering shrubs, ground covers, small fruiting plants, lavender plants.

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