Lavenders are usually grown for the essential oil which for highest quality, as used in perfumery and cosmetics, is extracted from the buds and flowers. The leaf hairs also have some of these essential oils and may be used for sachets (often with flowers) or as a slightly sweet, floral flavor in cooking.
I’m afraid I grow them primarily for the shape, texture and color of the leaves, as in this climate I am lucky to see more than a few buds by first frost. As of late June ‘Goodwin’ is the only cultivar with a trace of buds.
I buy them in 3” pots and transplant them into a raised bed—they like it hot and dry, which does not exactly describe Interior Alaska in summer, even in Fairbanks. But they have a nice variety of appearances.
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- ‘Munstead’ Lavender
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- ‘Hidcote’ Lavender
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- ‘Arctic Snow’ Lavender
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- ‘Boodwin Creek’ Lavender
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- French Lavender
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- ‘Goodwin Creek Grey’ Lavender
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- ‘Platinum Blond’ Lavender
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- ‘Edelweiss’ Lavender
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- ‘Silver Edge’ Lavender
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Where in the world do you find all those varieties? We have some pretty good nurseries here in Tulsa, but none of them have all the herbs you’ve mentioned. Do you order them from a mail order operation? If so, which one?
I get them from a local nursery, Plant Kingdom, which has them shipped in. I generally buy early, as they don’t have many varieties left by planting time. Exception is the basils, which I get at Basically Basil which has a stall just across from the Writers’ Guild at the Farmers’ Market.