Growing lavender in my garden on Long Island seemed impossible. Being an island (even though it feels like living in an extension of Manhattan – oops, that’s an island, too!), the humidity was awful and lavender often died from molds and fungi.
Not so in Virginia. I went a bit crazy planting lavender my first spring here. I bought a set of various lavender seeds from Parks, planted them and kept my fingers crossed. Two of three varieties, lavender Munstead and and lavender Hidcote, love it here. They’re thriving in all the sunny beds but especially in my rose garden. I have a new Spanish lavender that promises purple-burgundy blooms started from seed and nearly ready to transplant, too.
One of the most unusual lavender perennial combinations I’ve discovered is this startling lavender and yellow Rudbeckia together. It’s not Black Eyed Susan but a yellow Echinacea variety. There’s also Echinacea “White Swan” and “Purpurea” planted in this border.
I mentioned my rose garden, and that’s where the lavender really combines well with the scent and colors of the roses. It combines beautifully with my pink “Bonica” roses as you can see here, but it also looks beautiful with the red miniatures roses, too.
I seem to gravitate to pink and lavender combinations – the last perennial combination to share is the lavender on the slope with the lovely Misourri primrose blossoming alongside.
I planted lavendar for the first time last year. It is coming back nicely. I love the scent and am hoping to make some sachets. Your lavendar looks great. I like the combinations with other flowers.
Where in Virginia do you live that’s not humid??? This transplanted Marylander wants to know!
We’re in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We do get humid days, but nothing – and I mean nothing – like the soupy days on Long Island. It was so humid some days it was like walking through water, the air just felt thick. It’s never as bad here!