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Other Names:  English Lavender, Common Lavender

Description:

This is the classic lavender to use in sachets, potpourri, perfumes and baking. Compact and early flowering. Must have a very well drained site; try a pea gravel mulch at the base of the plant.

Edible Qualities

Munstead Lavender is a perennial herb that is typically grown for its edible qualities. It produces which can be harvested at any point. The have a pleasant taste and a pleasant fragrance.

The are most often used in the following ways:

• Baking
• Drying
• Tea

Features & Attributes

Munstead Lavender has masses of beautiful spikes of fragrant purple flowers rising above the foliage from early to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive fragrant needle-like leaves are grayish green in color. The foliage often turns coppery-bronze in fall.

This is a dense herbaceous evergreen perennial herb with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Munstead Lavender is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Herb Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Munstead Lavender will grow to be about 16 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 3 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant is typically grown in a designated herb garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for alkaline soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Munstead Lavender is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.