Lavandula angustifolia Dwarf Blue - True Lavender

The 'Dwarf Blue' Lavender is a dwarf variety, with a wide and compact habit, similar to the 'Hidcote' lavender, but healthier, that offers a generous flowering in deep purple spikes in early summer. It is an undershrub that dresses itself with evergreen leaves that turn silvery grey in summer, very aromatic. Planted in full sun, in well-drained soil, it is a lovely plant to use in borders, rockeries, and containers. The true lavenders, very drought-resistant, are perfectly suited for ornamenting Mediterranean gardens without watering.

The 'Dwarf Blue' Lavender is a horticultural variety probably obtained in Bussum, Germany, around 1920. The species type, Lavandula angustifolia, is also called 'true' lavender. It is a plant of the Lamiaceae family native to the Mediterranean basin, related to sage, thyme, and rosemaries. The 'Dwarf Blue' variety forms a very small bush, reaching 40 cm (16in) in flower height and 60 cm (24in) in width. Its habit is very compact, dense, and vigorous, forming a wide and rounded bushy clump. Its decorative foliage, evergreen in winter, is slightly wider than that of 'Hidcote'. It consists of elongated, aromatic leaves, 4-5 cm (2in) long, of a beautiful silver-green color. In June-July, this lavender is covered with numerous highly scented and nectar-rich flowers, in a deep purple color, carried by cylindrical spikes 8 cm (3in) long, at the end of slender, leafy, woody stems. In reality, it is the colored calyces, which surround the flowers, that influence the perception of the color of the inflorescence when seen from a distance.

The 'Dwarf Blue' Lavender grows in any well-drained, dry, poor, and rocky soil in full sun. In heavy soil or in excessively humid regions, it must be planted on a slope, in a raised bed, or in a rockery. This lovely lavender can be used as a border plant with dwarf roses, drought-tolerant grasses, and catmints, for example. It can also be planted in a rockery with thymes and oreganos, to highlight a pathway. When grown in a pot, it should be watered regularly, but with longer intervals to allow the substrate to dry between waterings.

Tips: Put dried flowers in a handkerchief and close it by tying the four corners to perfume clothes and repel moths. Create scented sugar by putting lavender leaves in brown sugar.

Properties: Lavender, being a very nectar-rich plant, contributes to the preservation of bees: the nectar of its flower attracts bees, making it one of the most renowned honeys.

Lavandula angustifolia is a medicinal plant, with therapeutic properties that were once widely used: its essential oil has antiseptic, antispasmodic, healing, purifying, diuretic, and other properties.