Lovely Lavender

Lavender is best known for it's fabulous scent, but I would gladly grow Spanish lavender even if it had no fragrance at all.  

Spanish Lavender, Lavandula stoechas, is a sun loving perennial that forms a 2 foot tall shrubby mound.  This plants blooms profusely is the spring and then keeps on going.

The big surprise to me is that Spanish Lavender does not need full, all-day sun to thrive.  I tried to grow this plant in a full sun area with limited irrigation and it did not do well.  I currently have it growing in a southern exposure under the outer branches of a red bud tree.  The location is protected from both morning and afternoon sun, and this seems to be working quite well.

Fernleaf Lavender, Lavandula multifida, is growing close by in another bed.  This plant is not as cold hardy as the Spanish Lavender and freezes back to the ground nearly every year.  It has come back reliably for the past 3 winters.  This past winter it hardly died back at all and started blooming again at the first sign of spring.

In my garden, Fernleaf Lavender, is growing in a north eastern exposure.  I have 3 plants which are just far enough from the eave of the house to miss out being shaded from the mid-day sun, but some tall trees protect the plants from harsh afternoon rays.

Last December just before the first freeze, I collected up all the Fernleaf Lavender flowers and dried them.  They make excellent sachets.

In Central Texas, plants don't always grow in accordance with the plant tags.  Many plants, including these lovely lavenders, appreciate and can do with less sun than you might think.  Now that I know the secret to growing lavender in my garden, you can bet I'll be adding more.