For the Love of Lavender

“Lavender’s blue dilly, dilly. Lavender’s green. When I am king dilly, dilly. You shall be queen.”

(Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ in the Rose Garden at Careys)

It’s unmistakable. Those pretty purple flowers that create a dreamy scented haze on sunshine-filled days.

At Careys Secret Garden our lovely lavender beds are now in their prime! Not only do the beds look stunning, but they’re supporting a bustling busy world of pollinators.

We firmly believe biodiversity is of paramount importance, so we are proud to cultivate a varied selection of English, French and Spanish lavender plants here at the garden.

Here’s a sneak peak of what we’re growing, and some tips on how to create something similar in your own garden.

The lavender beds are now in their prime!

Come and explore the different varieties we’re growing to improve biodiversity in the Secret Garden.

At Careys Secret Garden we grow in excess of 30 different types of English Lavandula cultivars (angustifolia & intermedia species), including Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’, which we use as a hedge in our Rose Garden. They are perfectly suited for this as the plants are all uniform clones made from cuttings from Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire. The other species Lavandula x intermedia ‘Old English’ grows taller, reaching abour 2’6” and is ideal for bunching up and using as dried flowers.

Lavandula x intermedia ‘Edelweiss’

Growing in the lavender bed adjacent to ‘The Old Potting Shed’ in the Secret Garden

There is also a French hybrid we grow called Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’ which is very popular with the perfume industry (and the bees!) due to it’s strong scent.

Lavandula angustifolia & intermedia species are extremely hardy as long as they have very well drained soil and full sun.

We have a specialist Lavender bed comprising of lavenders from such areas as France, The Canary Islands, Madeira, and mainland Spain. Many of these lavenders are borderline hardy, such as the dentata species from Spain (a fringe leaved lavender with finely lobed edges) and the stoechas species (from France) known as ‘Butterfly Lavender’ as it has stunning two-toned flowers which come in a variety of cultivars and colours.

Lavandula canariensis

A fern-leaved lavender from the Canary Islands

However, the fern-leaved lavender plants, such as Lavandula canariensis (from the Canary Islands) is much more sensitive to frost and we overwinter these in our polytunnel. Many of these more tender lavenders have extremely aromatic foliage and flower for an extended season right up until the first frosts, so we believe they are well worth the extra effort in taking care of them.

Biodiversity also extends the flowering season, for example; while the Lavandula angustifolia species are currently at their prime, the Lavandula dentata species are waiting to flower.

Pruning Advice

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Pruning Advice 〰️

Hardy lavenders (including angustifolia species) will finish flowering around the end of July, so cut these back hard in early August (or some time in August if you have a later flowering cultivar).

Later flowering lavenders, such as intermedia species, will go on flowering until September, because of this it can be risky to cut them back in September so leave them until the following Spring.

For both these types of lavender (early flowering, pruned in August, or later flowering, pruned in Spring) always cut back hard from the first year, otherwise you will end up with a woody unpleasant looking plant on stilts!

Fern-leaved lavender plants are very susceptible to frost, do not prune these until Spring. If the tips catch the frost DO NOT BE TEMPTED to tidy up the plants mid-winter because your friends are coming round for Christmas! Please leave them until all risk of frost has passed and then prune back to healthy tissue.

We are currently propagating most of the varieties of lavender that you can see showcased in the garden and we hope to have many available to purchase this Summer, so you can increase biodiversity in your garden.

Book a visit and come and explore the lavender beds for yourself, you may even feel inspired to build a lavender bed in your garden (the bees will love it!).

Click below to book a visit to the Secret Garden.