All the lavenders I planted are gone now. I just couldn't find a good place for any, and the small dwarf ones were unimpressive. The only one I kept for a while was 'After Midnight' but when it went dormant it looked awful, not what I wanted in front. Here's what I had:
From High Country Gardens in spring 2018
Three varieties together in the big pot on the deck
From the Waterwise sale in spring 2019:
Lavandula angustifolia
'After Midnight'-- this is gone had it in a pot out front but it didn't work
'Miss Katherine'-- this is gone
Lavandula intermedia'Gros Bleu'-- this is gone
Lavandula'Thumbelina Leigh'-- gone
Photos
Expectations:
The climate is right for lavenders here and there are amazing big ones all over the neighborhood. There are dwarf varieties for my smaller garden and I was intrigued by the High Country Gardens photos of two.
'Wee One' is the most compact English lavender in production.
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| 'Wee One' example as a mature plant in bloom |
'Thumbelina Leigh' is a another dwarf but with darker purple flowers.
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| 'Thumbelina Leigh' |
My history with lavenders has been abysmal, read on - - -
Experiences:
The only lavender I have, after trying many, is the one that was here already in the front triangle. It looks great, stays nice all winter and has fragrant flowers.
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| Existing lavender in 2023. It blooms in late June. |
But my failures with others have been many.
I tried 3 different lavenders in the big blue pot growing all together to form a cohesive but contrasting planting. 'After Midnight' has dark purple flowers, 'Miss Katherine' has pink blooms, and the 'Gros Bleu adds silvery foliage color. In winter the evergreen foliage would provide something to look at from inside the sliding glass bedroom doors. But it didn't work out -- the winter foliage was awful and only 'After Midnight' seemed worth saving.
'After Midnight' was saved, moved to the brown pot in front in 2020 and did okay there. It goes dormant in an unattractive way -- by mid summer it was browned out, and I cut it all back, and it then greened up again nicely and re-bloomed.
'After Midnight' was saved, moved to the brown pot in front in 2020 and did okay there. It goes dormant in an unattractive way -- by mid summer it was browned out, and I cut it all back, and it then greened up again nicely and re-bloomed.
In fall and winter it looks terrible, even after I cut off all the dead brown parts. Its a gray mess. But then it greens up again in spring and the flowers are nice.
Took it out in 2022.
'Wee One' was originally planted in the hot dry strip under the kitchen window, but then moved it to the tall terra cotta vase. The blooms were a dusty gray and short lived. Then the plant was just small vertical wisps of grayish foliage after its short bloom time. I took it out in 2020.
'Thumbelina Leigh' is a lot like the dwarf 'Wee One' but darker. It was in the kitchen courtyard, but got moved to a pot and then in late 2020 to the mini rock garden out by the corner of the driveway, with the one Mojave sage and a marrubium. None of those prospered, the lavender didn't take, and it was gone in 2021.