Lady Lavender Lavandula angustifolia ‘Lady’

LATIN NAME: Lavandula angustifolia

COMMON NAME: Lady Lavender

The Lady lavender nubs the short, blue-violet wands above the compact grey-green mound, the whole plant staying in the neat, tidy look of the front border. The hardy, evergreen shrub carries the narrow, linear, silvery-grey leaves along the short, woody stems, and the small, blue-violet, tubular flowers in the short, dense spikes, on the slender stems, through the mid summer, one of the neat, fragrant sights of the front border, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, dry, brown nutlets. The nutlets have a very long record as the fine, dwarf lavenders of the old gardens, and the plant is a historic presence of the front border. It is a plant of the open, sunny, light, gritty, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Lady lavender is a historic subject of the plant science, and the short spikes keep showing up in the work on the dwarf lavenders. The way the small, blue-violet, tubular flowers form in the short, dense spikes has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the dwarf lavenders, the narrow leaves and the members of the mint family. The nutlets and the compact habit have also made it a fine study shrub, and the Lady lavender is a regular subject of the work on the short spikes of the temperate world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The Lady lavender is a neat, useful plant of the front border and the study collection. The narrow, linear, silvery-grey leaves along the short, woody stems carry the neat look of the front border, one of the neat, fragrant sights of the front border, drawing the bees, and the nutlets have a very long record as the fine, dwarf lavenders of the old gardens, the tidy, low mounds coming to the edges, the pots, the low hedges and the steady practice of the old gardens, while the small, blue-violet, tubular flowers in the short, dense spikes, on the slender stems, open through the mid summer, to be followed by the small, dry, brown nutlets. It is one of the fine choices for the front border, the edging row and the study collection, and it has been written about in the horticultural and the botanical papers for the compact habit and the very long history. It is a neat, useful plant of the open, sunny, light, gritty, well-drained garden.

The Lady seeds germinate slowly in a sandy, gritty mix kept barely moist. The young plants are neat and compact, and they take the light, gritty ground of the edge well.

To grow the Lady lavender from seed, sow the small, grey seeds singly into the deep tray of sandy, gritty mix, water gently, then keep the tray in a bright, airy spot. The seedlings appear within a few weeks, and they grow on slowly. With the sun and the light, gritty, well-drained ground, the blue-violet nubs will open over the summer.

Lavender'Lady'will flower the first year from seed when started indoors. Features gray-green foliage and fragrant flower spikes that can reach 8" in height.

A very nice improvement on English lavender. This is the first strain to flower consistently in the first year from seed. Uniform, compact branching habit; 20-25cm/8-10in tall. Lavender-blue flowers. All-America selection 1994.