The Allure Of Lavender!

This herbaceous plant, a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, is so famous that its common name is even used to describe a colour. Most of us will associate the term lavender with a gentle shade of light purple that symbolises elegance, refinement, serenity, purity and luxury – the latter two probably due to the Latin word ‘lavare’, which means to bathe and to wash. One can just imagine how the conquering and decadent Romans bathed in bunches of lavender sprigs and flowers, draped their newly washed togas over the bushes to permeate them with the fresh smell, and stacked dried stems of leaves and flowers in dark corners to repel plague-infested fleas!

- Anne Callers

It is believed that lavender originated from the Mediterranean, Middle East and India, and in today’s terms it has quite an international footprint since many European countries claim different species and cultivars as their own. This is why we read about English lavender, Spanish lavender, Italian lavender, French lavender, Dutch lavender and so forth, without really knowing whose is really whose.

And not to be outdone, the Australians jumped in and bred ‘The Princess’ range of lavenders from hardy European lavender parentage, the result having fat pink flowerheads topped with twisted electricpink bracts!

We are fortunate enough to also have a locally bred lavender (with English pedigrees) called Lavandula x intermedia ‘Margaret Roberts’, which in my opinion is the best general-purpose lavender of them all. It is a no-nonsense plant that is never not performing well or in flower!

The best climate for lavenders

Lavenders generally prefer warm and dry conditions, and some may experience problems in humid, subtropical regions. They are relatively hardy against cold and will tolerate light frost. They are perfect for dry and windy coastal gardens.

How to grow them

Best location: Plant them in full sun with ample spacing to allow good air circulation between plants. Depending on the type of lavender you are planting, spacing for informal planting should be 45 – 90cm apart. For hedges it can be 60cm apart.