Advice and information about growing Lavender..

Lavender - or Lavandula to give it the proper name - is so easy to grow.

Lavenders like: A sunny spot: Well draining soil: being cut back right after flowering in mid-late summer

Lavenders will also grow - or rather survive - in semi shade or slightly damp areas, but they will not thrive! When you plant them, add a little compost to the planting hole; keep well watered until they get settled - maybe up to three months.

After they flower in June - August trim the lavender bushes back by cutting off all the old flower stems - right back into the shrub. they will soon shoot out from below your pruning cut and give you nice bushy plants which will flower the following year.

As a last resort, an old established plant can be rejuvenated by cutting back quite hard, but not right down to ground level. Make sure that you leave some foliage on the stems that you cut back.

In the UK, the English Lavenders (Lavandula stoechas types) are hardiest, but the French Lavenders (Lavandula stoechas types) are not always hardy.

A typical English Lavender - and one of the favourites - Lavandula Hidcote blue. They even grow this type in France for flower production!

A typical French Lavender (It's the frilly one) - Lavandula stoechas Butterfly. Not too hardy in severe winters.

Keep an eye out for greenfly in early summer. Lavenders attract bees and other flying insects.

Lavenders are legendry for their aromatic foliage and flowers.