Garden perfume
The lavender genus originates from Mediterranean countries. It was monks of the past who spread the flower far and wide. They brought it along when they founded new monasteries for they could not do without the lavender in the monastery garden. Many infirmities were cured by means of the scented plant.
The scent has since successfully been exploited commercially, and today a large number of lavenders are grown with a view to extracting lavender oil for, among others, the perfume industry. This is because the genuine lavender scent is difficult to copy synthetically. But with lavenders in the garden, it is no problem imitating the big perfume houses. Lavender flowers are harvested immediately before they open and are dried in a dark, cool location. The dried lavender flowers keep their scent for an extremely long time.
Scented, flowering lavenders are tantamount to warm, sunny weather. From April to September, you can plant new lavenders in your garden, or in containers and tubs. There are several types of lavender to choose from. Some of them can be a source of great pleasure to you year after year; others are not so hardy and require a frost-free winter location to overwinter.
Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, is the traditional lavender with its hundreds of spikes of deep lavender blue flowers. Plant it in a warm, but first and foremost sunny location with well-drained soil. The plant is completely winter-hardy; however, it does not tolerate moist soil. Several lavender blue varieties are available, the shades of which differ only marginally; for example the very popular types ‘Hidcote Blue’ and ‘Blue River’. A different lavender is called ‘Rosea’, referring to the colour of the flowers. ‘Rosea’ has delicate pink flowers, but is just as hardy as the lavender blue plants.
Butterfly lavender, Lavandula stoechas, is a different lavender type that needs a warmer climate than the ordinary lavender to overwinter outdoors. In return, it has very beautiful and conspicuous flowers with large, coloured petals at the top of the spike, resembling small butterflies rocking gracefully at the top of the plant. Butterfly lavender is available in a wealth of colour combinations in the blue, red, rose and white parts of the colour range.
Butterfly lavender thrives under warm, sunny conditions and is less sensitive to drying out than most summer flowers. Butterfly lavender is therefore the ideal container plant that flowers and smells throughout summer and well into the autumn, no matter whether the garden is large, small or simply consists of a single container on the patio.