Lavandula dentata

One of the finest winter bloomers for a Mediterranean garden, bringing colour, scent and life from October to May. Particularly effective planted in rows where its aromatic presence and distinctly Mediterranean character can be fully appreciated.

Lavandula dentata is the longest-flowering lavender for the Mediterranean climate, producing pale purple flower spikes with showy purple bracts at the top from autumn through early summer — typically October to June, with brief pauses in midsummer and during the coldest weeks of winter. The serrated grey-green leaves are highly aromatic, releasing the classic resinous lavender scent on warm days. Hardy to -5°C, the species tolerates drought, salt spray, poor stony soils and reflected heat exceptionally well, but rots quickly in heavy wet conditions or shade. Pollinators visit constantly during the long flowering season; harvest the spikes for fragrant indoor arrangements.

Lavandula dentata forms a rounded silver-grey shrub 60–90 cm tall and wide, perfect for the front and middle of Mediterranean borders, in low informal hedges along paths, in large terracotta pots, and massed along driveways and pool edges. The almost year-round flowering makes it more valuable than the shorter-blooming Lavandula angustifolia in mild Mediterranean climates. Pair with the deep blue of Salvia rosmarinus, the magenta of Cistus creticus, the chartreuse of Euphorbia characias and the silver of Westringia and Stachys byzantina. Excellent as a low border edging a knot garden or formal parterre. Cut back by one third in late winter to maintain shape; avoid cutting into old woody growth, which does not resprout.