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Bringing fragrance, pollinators, colour, and timeless charm, we believe English lavender is a garden essential and here’s our guide to why and which ones to choose for your garden.
While lavender was once known only for its classic blue-purple hues, today’s options include soft pinks, elegant whites, and deep purples, spanning traditional English lavenders to exotic Mediterranean varieties.
The main types you’ll come across include:
English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia or Lavandula officinalis)
Hardy, fragrant, and ideal for UK gardens, English lavender is the most popular type for borders, hedging, and cutting. It has a neat, bushy habit and blooms in mid-summer with classic, aromatic spikes. These are the lavenders we grow and sell at Golden Valley Plants.
French Lavender (Lavandula dentata)
Known for its toothed leaves and more delicate scent, French lavender flowers for a longer season but isn’t as hardy, so it isn’t resilient enough for UK gardens— unless kept in pots so it can be moved indoors in winter.
Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas)
Eye-catching and early blooming, Spanish lavender features the trademark “bunny ear” bracts on top of its flower heads. It’s a real showstopper, though it prefers warmer climates and needs protection from frost.
Why choose English and not French or Spanish for your garden
Whether you’re dreaming of a fragrant hedge, planning pollinator-friendly borders, or simply want a low-maintenance plant that brings colour and calm, lavender gives you plenty of options to choose from. At Golden Valley Plants, we grow and sell only English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) because it’s hardy, reliable, and beautifully scented, and performs brilliantly in UK gardens.
Unlike the Mediterranean lavenders, which are best suited to warmer, more sheltered spots, English lavender will survive the British winter, flower for months, and return reliably year after year – all while attracting bees and butterflies in droves.
The benefits of planting English Lavender in your garden
English Lavender is renowned for its deep purple-blue flowers and exquisite fragrance. When selecting lavender plants, consider varieties like ‘Hidcote’, known for its compact growth and robust scent. Lavender’s nectar-rich flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, contributing to a healthy ecosystem beneficial for the environment. It also adds a beautiful scent and vitality to your garden or landscape.
Choosing which Lavender to buy
There’s plenty to choose from so we have picked out a selection from our collection below, each one grown at our nursery and hand-selected for quality. We have also included planting advice and care tips.
Best Lavender for Early Flowering
Lavender Vienco White
Is one of the first to flower, offering a longer lavender season in your garden. The crisp white flowers stand out against the soft grey-green foliage and offer a refreshing alternative to traditional purple shades
Why we recommend it: Long-lasting, highly scented flowers ideal for pots and hedges.
Best Lavender for Hedging
Lavender ‘Hidcote’ Improved
A classic for good reason and one of the best Lavenders you’ll find – ‘Hidcote’ Improved has a longer flowering period than ‘Hidcote’, a stronger fragrance and keeps its colour and shape throughout the season. It has deep purple flowers with a rich, traditional lavender scent. With a neat, compact shape, it makes a lovely low hedge or border plant.
Why we recommend it: Long flowering, highly fragrant, and incredibly versatile. An essential lavender for any garden.
Best Lavender for Fragrance
Lavender ‘Blue Spear’
The most striking English Lavender due to its large blue-purple flowers and it has the greenest foliage of any lavender we grow. A later flowering variety, but once it starts, the flowers keep coming well into the autumn.
Why we recommend it: The foliage and flowers are strongly scented, making it perfect for sensory gardens, cut arrangements, or drying for use indoors.
Best Lavender for Pots
Lavender BeeZee Dark Blue
Compact and an improvement on the well-known ‘ Hidcote’, as they produce more flowers per plant and perform even better in our British climate.
Why we recommend it: Specifically bred for the UK market, they are great for pots and also ideal as border edging.
Best Lavender for Wildlife
Lavender Aromatico Evolution
‘Aromatico Evolution’ is highly scented and the number and size of flowers per plant are also impressive; this is great for attracting pollinators into the garden and makes for a more visually striking display.
Why we recommend it: Has an exceptionally long flowering period and is a top pick for wildlife-friendly gardens, robust and drought tolerant.
Best Lavender for Colour Contrast and Compact Spaces
Lavender BeeZee White
Offers a fresh, clean look that really pops in mixed borders or container displays. It pairs beautifully with purple or pink varieties for striking contrast.
Why we recommend it: Ideal for pots, edging, and smaller gardens where space is limited but impact is still important.
Best Pink Lavender
Lavender BeeZee Pink
Best for soft, romantic colour: Its delicate pink flowers offer a gentle, rosy hue that stands out among traditional purples and whites. It adds a romantic, cottage-garden feel to borders, pots, or herb gardens.
Why we recommend it: Compact, stylish and highly fragrant. Great for pots it is ideal as a border edging.
Lavender Planting and Care Tips
Whether you’re growing a border, pot display, or wildlife haven, here’s how to help your lavender thrive. By following these tips, your lavender will reward you with colour, fragrance, and garden interest from early summer into autumn, year after year.
Sunlight is key – Lavender loves full sun and needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day.
Choose a well-drained spot – it dislikes sitting in soggy soil. Raised beds or adding grit to heavy soil can help. Most lavenders prefer neutral to slightly alkaline soil.
When to Plant
Spring or early autumn is best, giving roots time to establish before extremes of heat or cold.
Avoid planting in winter when the ground is cold and wet.
Planting Tips
Space plants 45-60cm apart, depending on the variety.
Mix a handful of organic matter into the planting hole to improve drainage.
Water well after planting, but do not overwater. Lavender prefers to dry out slightly between watering.
What should I plant Lavenders with?
We recommend planting lavender alongside roses. In particular, purple-blue lavenders look great with pink roses, creating a beautiful contrast. Lavenders attract beneficial insects that help to control pests that affect roses, making the pairing both practical and aesthetically pleasing. Lavenders also work really well alongside drought-tolerant perennials such as: Achillea, Echinacea, Nepeta and Salvia.
Care and Maintenance
Pruning is essential: Lightly trim after flowering in summer to keep plants bushy.
In late August or early September, cut back spent flower stalks and about one-third of the leafy growth, but never cut into old woody stems
Watering: Once established, lavender is drought-tolerant. Water during dry spells in the first growing season.
Feeding: Lavender doesn’t need much feeding. Too much fertiliser can reduce flowering and make plants leggy.
Winter Care Most English lavenders (like Lavandula angustifolia) are fully hardy. Avoid waterlogged soil during winter – this is the biggest risk to their survival. For potted plants, raise containers off the ground on pot feet and place them in a sheltered, sunny spot.
Lavender and Wildlife Lavender is a magnet for pollinators, especially bees and butterflies. For best results in a wildlife-friendly garden: avoid pesticide use. Let some flowers go to seed if possible. Choose varieties like Lavender ‘Aromatico Evolution’ or ‘BeeZee’ series, specially selected for attracting wildlife.
To explore our full collection of stunning lavender varieties and find the perfect addition to your garden, visit our website today – there’s one waiting for you!
