Lavandula officinalis Labiate Lavender
Here is one that deserves a place in every garden, and for many reasons: Its aromatic foliage and flowers, its nostalgic charm, and the pleasant sight of it against evergreen with its gray-felt leaves and dark-lavender flowers. It usually stops growing just under the height of one foot and can be clipped lower if you wish. The leaves are lacy, slim, and dainty, especially with their pure-white fur when young.
Among the varieties available are the Munstead strain, dwarf, plump, and bearing pink flowers; ‘Hidcate Blue,’ very hardy; compacta (nana compacta), earlier flowering and only a few inches high; and atropurpurea, with dark purple flowers.
CARE. Poor soil so plants will not grow too vigorously and winter-kill. Drainage, sun, winter protection. Dryish. Lime for maximum fragrance. Prune almost any time; mulch.
PROPAGATION. Seeds, division, cuttings in late fall or early spring on this year’s growth with heel of older wood.
SPECIAL USES. Edging, rock gardens, ground cover.
Myosotis Boraginaceae Forget-Me-Not
Sentiment, compelling as it is, is not the only reason for having this delightful little plant in one’s rock garden. Small though it is, it has its own quiet charm in its delicate foliage and transparent cloud of tiny blue flowers. The intensity of color of those blooms catches your eye and draws you to it. You look at it and understand the reason for its name. Here are a few members of the family:
scorpioides (palustris)—Light, low, and sprawling; light-blue flowers touched with gold at the center during the spring. (They last much longer if you have the dwarf variety semperflorens.) The fact that these perennials are often listed as “half-hardy annuals” indicates their need for winter protection, but they will self-seed. (Water-lily specialists offer an aquatic variety that grows in bogs.)
sylvatica (alpestris)—Self-sowing biennial (also offered as an annual) that has blue flowers with touches of pink, sometimes entirely pink. May flowers.