Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'
Lavender is a great plant, very versatile with the advantage of fragrant foliage. WIth plenty of nectar, it is particularly attractive to bees as you can see in our Kitchen Garden here at Harlow Carr. We also use lavenders for the front of a border as seen in Gardens Through Time, Garden four, and they make an ideal container plant to give scent and texture.
This particular type of lavender has silvery grey foliage and dark purple flowers. Generally plants with grey or silver foliage are more adaptable to drought or dry conditions as they lose less moisture through their leaves - a great advantage for growing lavender around your garden.
Vital statistics
- Common name
- English lavender 'Hidcote'
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Height & spread
- Up to 50-100cm (18-39in) high and wide
- Form
- Evergreen shrub
- Soil
- Well-drained, moderately fertile
- Aspect
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
Lavandula
A genus of about 25 species of aromatic, evergreen shrubs and subshrubs found in dry, sunny, exposed, rocky habitats from the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean, and N.E. Africa to S.W Asia and India.
Cultivated for their long-stalked spikes of fragrant, tubular, two-lipped flowers, which, in many species, have a high nectar content, making them particularly attractive to bees.
The name Lavandula derives from Latin Lavo to wash from its use in soaps and toiletries of various kinds, pedunculata means with a flower stalk or peduncle.
Two of the most important lavenders in cultivation are Lavandula angustifolia and L. latifolia. Both are rich in essential oils although they differ slightly. L.angustifolia has exquisitely scented oils which are used in aromatherapy and high quality perfumes. L. latifolia is used in insect repellents and cleaning products due to its pungent oil.
Lavandula stoechas was once used by the Greeks and Romans as an antiseptic and toiletry herb. It is still used today and is believed to benefit digestion, relax spasm, promote healing and act as a mild sedative on the nervous system.
Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'
'Hidcote' is a bushy dwarf evergreen shrub with narrow, silvery-grey leaves and small deep violet-purple flowers in dense, aromatic spikes 4cm (11/2in) long.
It became well known at Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire, though it may have been bought in France by Major Johnston who made the garden there.
Cultivation
- Grow in a moderately fertile, well-drained soil in full sun.
- If grown for drying the flowers they should be cut before the flowers are fully open, otherwise after flowering stalks should be cut back to within 2.5cm (1in) of the previous year's growth.
- Dead head established plants in the autumn annually to keep a healthy and sturdy plant, removing the spent flowers only.
- Rosemary leaf beetle and froghoppers and grey mould may be a problem.
Propagation
- Take semi-ripe cuttings in summer.
- Sow seeds in containers in a cold frame in spring, but these will not come true to the cultivar.
AGM
The RHS Woody Plant Committee awarded Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' Award of Garden Merit and described it as a:
'Bushy dwarf evergreen shrub with narrow, silvery-grey leaves and small deep violet-purple flowers in dense, aromatic spikes 3-4cm long.'