Lavandula

A traditional favourite in many gardens, the scent and flowers are what help keep this herb so popular with so many. With its highly aromatic fragrance and its distinctive flowers rising above the spiked foliage, it falls into two main categories - English Lavender with its familiar old-fashioned flowers and French Lavender with the little tufts or ears growing out of the end. The colours range from a deep purple blue, through mauve, lilac, pinks and white, or even a combination, depending on the variety you choose.

Generally considered a hardy evergreen perennial, there are those that are only half-hardy and will need some protection during the colder months. All lavenders thrive in a sunny, free draining site and can make beautiful hedging and borders or look equally stunning when grown in pots and containers. Easy to maintain, just trim it in the Spring, cut back to the leaves when it has finished flowering and then trim again before the frosts to prevent it from becoming woody.

Use the flowers, either fresh of dried as a moth repellent, scented drawer sachet, to aid sleep or in one of the many recipes that require its distinctive flavour.