Grow Your Own Fragrant Lavender: A Mediterranean Herb for Every Garden

If any plant has it all—or a good portion—it's lavender. This Mediterranean native grows easily outside its preferred conditions, is mostly pest- and disease-free, fragrant, and attracts bees, birds, and butterflies.

Equally at home as an accent, hedge, border plant, garden or curb strip, cascading over a rock wall, or in a container. With a sunny window, grow it as a houseplant.

Incredibly easy to harvest and use. Fresh flowers in bouquets and to flavor ice cream, teas, lemonades, cakes, cookies, salads, sugars. Dry for wreaths, swags, arrangements, or among clothes to add fragrance and deter moths. Oils for soaps and perfumes.

Popular Varieties

Numerous varieties exist; most common: English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia or L. officinalis), lavandin (L. x intermedia), Spanish lavender (L. stoechas).

English lavender—named for popularity in English gardens, not origin—is hardiest and best for edible flowers. Lavandin is the famously fragrant Provence lavender for soaps and perfumes. Spanish lavender looks tougher with larger flowers but is less hardy than English.

Growing Conditions

Lavender thrives in drought and poor soil; humidity and wet feet are nemeses. In humid climates or poor drainage, try Spanish or French lavender (L. dentata). Plant in raised beds, on slopes, in containers, or treat as annual.

Buy named nursery plants for certainty. Seeds germinate slowly and may not grow true.

• Light: Full sun
• Water: Regular to establish, then minimal
• Prime season: Spring to summer
• Plant: Spring through fall, except hottest summer days

Favorite Cultivars

• L. angustifolia: Alba, Hidcote, Lady Lavender, Munstead, Nana Alba, Sharon Roberts
• L. x intermedia: Grosso, Provence, White Spikes
• L. stoechas: Dark Eyes, Hazel, Ruffles series

Planting and Care

Choose full sun with excellent drainage; add sand or compost to increase drainage. Lavender prefers poor soil.

Space 1–4 feet apart depending on eventual size. In humid climates, allow ample air circulation. Mulch with sand or pea gravel.

For containers: choose pot 1–2 inches larger than root ball, eventually transplant to 12–16 inch container. Ensure drainage; water and fertilize more frequently than in-ground plants.

Water regularly first year to establish; subsequently let dry completely before watering. Light fertilizer in spring when growth starts.

Shear back by one-third to one-half after first bloom for potential second harvest. In spring, prune lightly to remove broken/dead growth and shape.

If center gets woody, cut out those branches for new growth. Lavender isn't long-lived—replace every 10 years or so.

Fine through most winters. In ground-freeze/thaw areas, mulch with sand or gravel to protect roots. In coldest climates, cover plants.

Pests/diseases rare. Occasional spider mites; fungal diseases in humid climates or continuously wet soil.

Harvest

Pick flowers just before opening for best scent. Harvest randomly (every third branch) to keep plant looking full.

Hang in cool, dark place with good air circulation to dry.