Lavender
Lavender: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Lavenders belong to the genus Lavandula, in the mint family, Lamiaceae. They are aromatic plants with woody bases, often small evergreen shrubs or subshrubs. Their outline combines narrow foliage with upright flowering stems. The genus includes several species and hybrids, differing in size, fragrance and cold tolerance. The familiar image of lavender in Provence therefore represents only part of this botanical diversity.Leaves are generally opposite, green to grey green, sometimes silvery because of small hairs. In narrow-leaved lavender, the blade is long and slender; in toothed lavender, visible teeth mark its edge. Other species have more divided leaves. Young leafy growth surrounds a base that gradually becomes woodier. Foliage colour and texture remain ornamental outside flowering, giving the bush a visible character even when the taller flower stems are absent.Small flowers gather in spikes at the ends of stems rising above the bush. Their tubular corolla has lips, a feature…
