23 Top Lavender Varieties for Filling Your Garden with Color and Fragrance

The most widely grown lavender species in North America, English lavender is most commonly used in cooking and baking. The plant's oils are often used in perfumes, and its flowers and foliage are popular in sachets and potpourri. It grows best in sandy soil that isn't too rich in nutrients.

Test Garden Tip: English lavender isn't from England. Its actually from the Mediterranean. The plant's common name came about because of its ability to grow well in the English climate.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Drought-tolerant and needs good drainage

Size: Up to 3 feet tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: English Lavender, ($6, Michigan Bulb Co.)

One of the more popular varieties of lavender plants, 'Hidcote' produces silvery-gray foliage and dark purple-blue flowers that are fragrant all season long. This variety's compact mounded form may be kept dense with regular pruning.

Season of Bloom: Late spring/summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 20 inches tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: 'Hidcote' Lavender, ($20, Etsy)

This variety is popular because it stays compact, displays violet-purple flowers, and shows off attractive silvery foliage. Like 'Hidcote', 'Munstead' is known for its strong fragrance. To control the plant's size and to promote new growth, prune it back to eight inches in the spring every three years.

Season of Bloom: Late spring/summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 18 inches tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: 'Munstead' English Lavender, ($6, American Meadows)

Excellent for both fresh cut and dried flowers, 'Betty's Blue' English lavender grows in rounded mounds and produces large spikes of dark purple-blue flowers. This compact variety grows best as a small hedge or in a knot garden. It is slightly taller than other dark-colored English lavender varieties.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 30 inches tall

Zones: 5-9

Buy It: 'Betty's Blue' English Lavender, ($6, Goodwin Creek Gardens)

Select 'Royal Purple' for its long early-summer stems of strongly scented purple flowers. Of the different types of lavender, this variety's blooms hold their color well after drying. One of the larger English lavenders, you can grow 'Royal Purple' as a stunning low, informal hedge.

Test Garden Tip: If you grow a lavender hedge and live in a moist or humid climate, leave space between plants so air flows more freely. The plants will be more susceptible to disease if they're too close.

Season of Bloom: Early summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 3 feet tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: 'Royal Purple' English Lavender, ($7, Mountain Valley Growers)

A popular cultivar for commercial oil production, 'Buena Vista' is a slow-growing variety that blooms twice a year, once in late spring and again in autumn with a few flower spikes appearing in between. It features dark blue flowers and gray-green foliage. Its growth is not as compact as some other cultivars.

Test Garden Tip: If you grow 'Buena Vista' or other lavenders in containers, be sure the containers have several drainage holes for excess water to escape. Use a high-quality potting mix and amend it with sand, perlite, or other materials to increase drainage.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: 'Buena Vista' Lavender, ($6, Goodwin Creek Gardens)

A fast-growing cultivar, 'Croxton's Wild' is similar to the wild lavender that grows in the Mediterranean. It shows off light violet and purple flowers and has a loose, open form. These plants make excellent cut flowers, but they are not recommended for drying. Prune plants in early spring, then as needed to keep their shape after flowering.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 5-9

Buy It: 'Croxton's Wild' English Lavender, ($6, Goodwin Creek Gardens)

The fragrant flowers of 'Melissa' English lavender emerge as pure white but take on a delicate pink blush as they age. Upright and compact with gray green leaves, this variety blooms longer than other pink-flowered lavenders. It's perfect for borders, rock gardens, and containers.

Test Garden Tip: Give this lavender plant a moderate pruning after it blooms to prevent it from becoming woody.

Season of Bloom: Early to late summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: 'Melissa' English Lavender, ($7, Richters)

Long-blooming 'Jean Davis' produces pale pink flowers from late spring into midsummer. Its fruity, non-bitter taste makes it a top pick for culinary creations. This shorter variety grows well in containers, rock gardens, or in perennial beds. Plant it with other purple lavenders to create a muted contrast of color in your garden.

Season of Bloom: Early to late summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 18 inches tall

Zones: 5-9

Buy It: 'Jean Davis' English Lavender, ($8, Mountain Valley Growers)

A hybrids between English and spike lavenders, lavandin tends to be taller than its English cousins. It also typically has a lighter color, plus larger flowers on longer stems. Lavandin is commonly seen in fields across the Provence region of France where it's grown for perfumes. It tolerates hot temperatures better than English lavender, but it prefers to be kept drier.

Test Garden Tip: Lavandin needs plenty of sun and dry or well-drained soil. Consider mulching it with gravel to help the soil dry out a little faster.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full Sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: Provence Lavandin Lavender, ($10, Etsy)

Commonly grown in the lavender fields of France, 'Grosso' lavandin plants are the most fragrant of all lavenders. Its strongly scented purple flowers are often used in making perfumes and sachets. As a semi-woody plant, it typically grows in a shrubby mound with large flower spikes that stand well above the foliage mound. This is the perfect plant to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 30 inches tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: 'Grosso' Lavender Plant, ($10, Etsy)

One of the tallest of the lavandins, 'Provence' gets its name from the area in France where it is commercially grown for the perfume industry. This extremely aromatic selection offers light lavender-blue flowers on narrow spikes that grow up to four inches long. 'Provence' can withstand hot and humid temperatures better than many other lavender varieties.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 3 feet tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: French Lavender, ($16, Bluestone Perennials)

Loved for its rich purple flowers, 'Gros Bleu' is a popular selection with long flower spikes and silvery foliage. It presents some of the darkest blooms of any of the lavandin-type lavenders and it flowers profusely in summer. With a sweeter scent than 'Grosso', this hybrid makes a wonderful fresh and dried flower.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 3 feet tall

Zones: 5-9

Buy It: 'Gros Bleu' Lavandin, ($6, Goodwin Creek Gardens)

One of the largest lavandin plants, 'Impress Purple' produces spikes of purple flowers on long stems that are good for cutting. It forms a large mound of grey-green foliage that looks great even when it isn't in bloom. This strongly scented selection provides a stunning effect when planted in a large groupings in herb gardens, borders, and rock gardens.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 30 inches tall

Zones: 5-9

Buy It: 'Impress Purple' Lavandin ($6, Goodwin Creek Gardens)

A fast grower, 'Edelweiss' features soft white flowers that dry well, making it a favorite of gardeners who like fragrant, white-flowering lavender in craft projects such as wreath making. The flower buds first emerge as light pink before opening to reveal a pure white flower. Plant these nectar-rich flowers to keep hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators coming to your yard.

Season of Bloom: Midsummer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 6-8

Buy It: 'Edelweiss' Lavandin, ($7, Mountain Valley Growers)

An especially floriferous variety, 'Hidcote Giant' is known for its long spikes of medium blue-violet flowers in midsummer and gray-green foliage. Its flower stems are extra long, making this selection good for cut flowers and for use in projects such as lavender wands. These nectar-rich flowers make a wonderful addition to a pollinator garden.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 3 feet tall

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: 'Hidcote Giant' Lavandin, ($7, Mountain Valley Growers)

Do you love the scent of lavender but want to add an additional plant style to your fragrant garden? Spanish lavender varieties offer a totally different look than their cousins. The flower heads are often short and topped with attractive bracts that look like large petals. Spanish lavenders love hot weather and can't withstand cold temperatures. Add these to your container gardens for a splash of texture.

Season of Bloom: Mid spring

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 8-11

Buy It: Spanish Lavender, ($7, Mountain Valley Growers)

This lively lavender displays cone-shape clusters of buds that open to small, bright purple flowers topped with showy white bracts that mature to light pink. The distinctive look of its flowers and its highly aromatic silvery foliage make it a wonderful addition to the garden. After its summer blooms peak, prune it back to ensure shorter and sturdier flower stems for the future.

Season of Bloom: Mid spring to late summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 8-9

Buy It: 'Ballerina' Spanish Lavender, ($6, Goodwin Creek Gardens)

Fragrant, shrubby 'Van Gogh' bears soft lavender-violet flowers topped by greenish-white bracts. The effect looks a bit like cute miniature pineapples. This variety produces bright green, linear, aromatic leaves that are densely covered in hairs, giving it a woolly appearance. Add this plant to a garden border or your favorite container to attract both bees and butterflies to your yard.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 8-10

Buy It: 'Van Gogh' Spanish Lavender, ($6, Goodwin Creek Gardens)

An eye-catching prolific bloomer, 'Curly Top' stands out from the crowd with its clusters of deep purple flowers topped by ruffled, curly lavender bracts that bloom almost continually during the growing season. Each bloom sits atop six-inch stems. Prune this plant regularly to maintain its shape and to encourage its abundant flowering.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 30 inches tall

Zones: 7-10

Buy It: 'Curly Top' Spanish Lavender, ($6, Goodwin Creek Gardens)

This pretty Spanish lavender variety supplies a steady crop of rich purple flowers on spikes topped by showy purple bracts. 'Madrid Purple' also has a compact, upright growth habit. The gray-green foliage accents the blooms nicely. If you're in a colder climate, you can still enjoy this plant by growing it in a container in the summer and moving it to a sheltered location during the winter.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 8-10

Buy It: Madrid Lavish Purple, ($14, Burpee)

You may see French lavender grown more as an ornamental plant than an herb. It doesn't emit the traditional fragrance that English lavenders and lavandins have. Its scent is more like camphor. Still, it is a lovely plant with clusters of purple flowers and furry, gray-green toothed leaves. It blooms all summer and fall and can bloom almost all year indoors if you have a bright window getting at least six hours of sun a day.

Season of Bloom: Spring to summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 3 feet tall

Zones: 8-11

Buy It: French Lavender Plant, ($7, Mountain Valley Growers)

Unlike other lavenders, the fragrance of fernleaf lavender's foliage and flowers is lemony, with an earthy undertone. Usually grown as an annual, it features narrow spikes of fragrant bluish-purple flowers that will bloom until frost. In frost-free areas, this species will bloom almost continuously. Its lobed silvery-green leaves give it a delicate, lacy appearance.

Season of Bloom: Summer

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall

Zones: 8-10

Buy It: Pinnata Lavender, ($7, Mountain Valley Growers)