Lavandula angustifolias The English Lavenders include English, Munstead, Hidcote, Hidcote Pink, Jean Davis, Sarah, and Vera and flower in mid to late spring. These second-round bloomers are finished by late spring or early summer. These look great when they flower, and, after pruning, remain a compact ball or hedge with exotically fragrant leaves the rest of the year. These Lavenders are hardy to Zone 5 but, like all Lavenders, will not tolerate poor drainage or high humidity.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Betty’s Blue A compact, erect plant with straight short spikes. Blooms are dark violet and make excellent potpourri or craft bouquets.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Buena Vista'It blooms twice per season (late spring and again in fall, in areas with a moderately long growing season), has superb fragrance and eye-catching, strongly bi-colored flowering spikes with a lax, informal habit. Bred in Oregon, ‘Buena Vista’s’ attractive elongated flower spikes have very dark blue calyxes and lighter blue corollas (flowers) that are very different from more compactly flowered English lavenders like 'Hidcote Superior". This is a distinctive and highly desirable cultivar not often available to the gardening public.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Coconut Ice' 16-18", dense, silvery-green foliage with spreading, uright habit. Flowers are clear pink before turning white. On the same spike more mature flowers show white, creating a stunning bi-color effect. Fragrant.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote Blue' An evergreen perennial, Lavender 'Hidcote Blue' has a subtle blue-green coloring and sweet fragrance. Reaching 12 to 18 inches high and wide, it boasts 2 1/2 inch, linear, downy leaves on strong stems. The leaves first open white, then turn a pale gray-blue-green color. Stalks of the deepest purple flowers grow up to 14 inches tall.  It has a more erect, compact habit and darker flowers, so it's perfect for hedges.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Lavance Purple’ A new dwarf cultivar, bred to be a little shorter (10-14") with a compact growth habit. It flowers the first year with deep purple sepals and petals. Plants are great to use as a border with their fragrant foliage and flowers. Prefers full sun and excellent drainage, especially in the winter.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Martha Roderick' This cultivar of English lavender has a semi-dwarf growth habit. Deservedly popular, this lavender is a particularly dense plant, growing to about 1 1/2 ft. tall and 2 ft. wide. Sweetly scented gray-green foliage is a very nice choice for low hedges or edgings. The calyx color is light purple; the corolla violet. 

Lavandula angustifolia 'Melissa' Pink Lavender A variety valued for its pink fading-to-white flowers. In lower altitude areas that have more overcast days than Colorado, the flowers can be quite pink. ‘Melissa’ is a compact grower with attractive gray-green foliage.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Miss Katherine' has the best pink flowers of the English lavenders. At lower elevations where the skies are less sunny (the Pacific NW, Mid-West and East Coast), the flowers will be dramatically pink. In sunny western climates the pink color is fainter and will be best when planted in afternoon shade. But regardless of where it’s grown, ‘Miss Katherine’ is delightfully fragrant and dries well for use in sachets.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' 15” x 18” wide. An old favorite, Lavender “Munstead” is a dependable performer blooming with pleasing lavender blue flowers. The flower color is sometimes variable as is the plant size.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Purple Bouquet' A sport off Hidcote from Sunshine Herb Farm in Tenino , Washington , this fairly new species is proving to be a hardy producer. I am impressed with its overall appearance and long, violet blue blooms.

Lavandula angustifolia ' Royal Purple' Royal Purple is a large cultivar suitable for hedging. The narrow gray-green leaves and long deep purple spikes retain their color well after drying. Height and spread is 32 inches. This is the classic lavender used in sachets, perfumes, wands, etc. Foliage is aromatic and grey-green and flower appearing in July and August. 

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Royal Velvet’  This is very showy when blooming plants are covered with long stemmed, dark navy-blue and lavender flower spikes. The 3 to 4 inch long flower spikes, which are much longer than “Hidcote” hold their dark color superbly as a dried flower. Home gardeners will enjoy it for its rapid growth, its long bloom period in late spring/early summer, and tolerance of wet winters

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Sachet'  A wonderfully fragrant lavender perfect for potpourris with dark violet blooms in June and again in Aug.-Sept. Has a nice symmetrical growth habit.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Sarah' The flowers are petit just like the rest of the plant. It is quite nice to use as a short edging, or as a very fragrant addition to the window box. Dark violet flowers.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Twickel Purple’ This cultivar of English lavender has very long flower stems that fan out around the plant. It has a unique appearance when in bloom. Stem length and dark color make it nice for fresh cut and dried flowers. The calyx color is purple; the corolla is violet.

Lavandula x intermedia The English Lavender Hybrids, sometimes referred to as Lavandins; come in third in the bloom cycle, starting just as the the English Lavenders are finishing, and continuing to mid summer. These are the workhorses of Lavender. They do it all: bloom lots, grow just the right size, and smell like a million bucks. Provence and Grosso are the best known of these, but there are many others, including Abriali, Fred Boutin, Dutch Mill, Grappenhall, Seal, Hidcote Giant and White Grosso. These are the ones to line the drive or border the garden with.   The botanical name for the Lavandins is Lavandula x intermedia. The x means it is a cross with two plants and we know which two. In this case, it is L. angustifolia and L. latifolia. The intermedia means that these crossed plants have qualities of both parents, or it is intermediate between them. Lavandins have long gray leaves, twice or more the size of L. angustifolias. They also grow much larger and faster. 

Lavandula x intermedia 'Alba' White flowered French Lavender A vigorous, but hard-to-find cultivar, with fragrant pure white flowers and very gray-white foliage. Plant ‘Alba’ behind Lavender ‘Hidcote’ or surround with Delosperma cooperi.

Lavandula x intermedia 'Dilly Dilly' Very fragrant, with improved hardiness and vigor. Dense and symmetrical foliage forms a compact ball of only 12”, but purple-blue flower spikes tower well above the foliage almost all summer, attracting butterflies and honey bees.

Lavandula x intermedia 'Eidelweiss' A softer, whiter version of Alba, this white lavender variety also dries nicely for crafts. It has a longer flower head with small, striated purple tinges through the base of the flower head. A member of the Dutch group.

Lavandula x intermedia 'Grappenhall' One of the largest of all the Lavandula x intermedias. Pruned it should reach about two feet high and two feet wide. Planted in early fall the bush should reach about a foot tall the first year. The second year it should reach the two and a-half to three foot mark and should be maintained to stay at this height. It has long flower stems and makes a good cut flower for bouquets or other crafts. 

Lavandula x intermedia 'Gros Bleu' The long spikes of flowers are an outstanding shade of purple, one of the darkest of the lavandin flowers, borne on exceptionally long stems. First choice for fresh or dried flowers, L. 'Gros Bleu' is a handsome shrub in the landscape and is adapted to our Mediterranean climate.

Lavandula x intermedia 'Grosso' (Fat Spike) The “work horse” of lavender varieties. The bush has a low, compact habit with very long, extremely fragrant flower heads. Used for oil production in France . This is the preferred lavender for lavender wands and for buds. A lighter purplish gray bud, this cultivar is not recommended for cooking as it contains camphor, a somewhat bitter flavor.

Lavander x intermedia 'Hidcote Giant' This forms a medium-sized shrub after a few growing seasons becoming an impressive plant when the large branched stems are covered with light lavender-blue flowers. The individual flower spikes are much more substantial than either 'Provence' or Grosso' ‘Hidcote Giant’ is also wonderfully fragrant and dries well for everlasting bouquets.

Lavandula x intermedia 'Impress Purple' This, along with 'Gros Bleu', is one of the truest purple flowered lavandins. Nice long stems. Excellent for fresh or dried flowers.

Lavandula x intermedia 'Silver Frost' 2-3’ x 3’ wide This is a distinctive cultivar, appropriately named ‘Silver Frost’ because of its incredible powder-white foliage. ‘Silver Frost’, a slow grower with stout woody branches, takes 2 to 3 seasons to begin blooming heavily. However, it’s worth the wait as the large, showy true-blue flowers are spectacular. Extremely heat tolerant!

Lavandula x intermedia ‘Super’ Light blue flowers on a comparatively tall shrub. The flowers are used in commercial lavender oil production because the oil quality is close to that of English lavender. Use it fresh or dried.

OTHER LAVENDERS

Lavandula stoechas 'MadrId Blue'  Spanish Lavender  This is a selection from the Madrid Series of French lavender, which was bred in Belgium. It is a compact plant with an unusual color contrast between the sky blue corollas and the whitish colored flags or bracts, making a very showy display. It tends to begin blooming around Easter, which adds to its popularity.

Lavandula viridas (yellow lavender, annual) The chiffon yellow blooms of Yellow Lavender, Lavandula viridis, beautifully complement the gray leaves and purple flowers of other lavenders.  If you feel Lavender should be purple and smell like soap, then this plant is not for you. Big and bold describes the color, shape and fragrance of Yellow Lavender.