As well as colour and scent, lavender adds an animated dimension – it teems with bees thronging around its nectaries. Below is a selection of RHS Recommended: Award of Garden Merit winning lavenders that you could inhale at home.
A popular choice
L. ‘Hidcote’ is a bushy dwarf evergreen shrub with narrow, silvery-grey leaves and small deep violet-purple flowers in dense, aromatic spikes 3-4cm in length. 50cm (1.6ft) in height. Up to 100cm (3.3ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H5.
A compact evergreen
L. ‘Imperial Gem’ is a compact evergreen shrub creating domes of narrow grey-green leaves and fragrant spikes of dark violet flowers in early summer. 40cm (1½ft) in height. 90cm (3ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H5.
A bushy evergreen
L. ‘Miss Katherine’ is a bushy evergreen shrub creating erect domes of narrow, grey-green leaves and highly fragrant spikes of light pink flowers with silvery calyces. 40cm (1½ft) in height. 80cm (2.5ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H5.
Low-growing lavender
L. ‘Beechwood Blue’ is low-growing making compact domes of narrow, grey-green leaves and an abundance of violet-blue flower-spikes in early summer. 30cm (1ft) in height. 60cm (2ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H5.
White instead of purple
L. ‘Alba’ is a robust evergreen shrub creating an open dome with linear, grey-green leaves and long spikes of pure white flowers held well above the foliage in the latter half of summer. 50cm (1½ft) in height. 90cm (3ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H5.
Aromatic
L. ‘Sussex’ is a bushy evergreen shrub with grey-green foliage and a haze of lilac and violet, pointed flower spikes in mid to late summer. The scent has a lovely soft edge to it. 1m (3ft) in height. 70cm (2ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H5.
A hybrid lavender
L. ‘Ballerina’ is a vigorous A plant produced by crossing two distinct parents, often different species, to produce offspring that combine the characteristics of both. Hybrids can occur naturally, but crosses are often made deliberately by plant breeders to produce plants with better yield, improved flowering or vigour, or improved disease resistance.
Upright flowers
L. ‘Willow Vale’ is a vigorous upright evergreen shrub, with narrow, yellow-green leaves and erect flower stems mingled with the foliage bearing dense spikes of deep violet flowers. These have conspicuous reddish-purple terminal bracts. 80cm (2½ft) in height. 50cm (1½ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H3.
Silvery-green leaves
L. ‘Sawyers’ is a bushy evergreen shrub with linear, silvery-grey leaves and a flattened dome-shaped habit. Light purple flowers are held in almost triangular flower spikes from mid summer through August. It is a hybrid of L. lanata x L. angustifolia. 40cm (1½ft) in height. 70cm (2ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H4.
Textured leaves
L. ‘Royal Crown’ has thick flower spikes topped by tufts of violet-blue bracts over summer. The grey-green leaves have an interesting crinkly-looking texture and are toothed, hence the epithet dentata. It will need a dry spot at the base of a wall or grow it in a pot to move into a light and airy place indoors in winter. 90cm (3ft) in height. 90cm (3ft) in width. Hardiness rating: H3.
