Lavender is the secret weapon of gardeners around the world. In warm, dry climates, the herb's 39 evergreen species can fill problem spots in the garden with year-round foliage and with flowers in lovely shades of purple, blue, violet, and gray. From Albuquerque to Athens, we've rounded up 11 of our favorite examples.
Give lavender full sun and from 2 to 3 square feet of space to spread. For growing tips (and growing zones), see Field Guide: Lavender. For design inspiration, see 151 more photos of Purple Gardens in our Gardenista Gallery.
England
Above: Garden designer Arne Maynard edged a Devon farmhouse path with loose lavender punctuated by tightly trimmed yew. For more, see Garden Designer Visit: A 17th Century Farmhouse in Devon.
Italy
Above: In the Piedmontese hills, Turin-based landscape architect Cristiana Ruspa unified discrete outdoor spaces—a circular driveway, a shaded terrace, and an inner courtyard with a bleached wood pergola—with a colorful palette of low-water perennials. For more, see Rehab Diaries: The Resurrection of an Italian Nobleman's Garden.
Australia
Above: On the Mornington Peninsula southeast of Melbourne, garden designer Paul Bangay designed a Mediterranean-style garden with lavender behind low boxwood hedges. Photograph via Paul Bangay Garden Design.
Northern California
Above: Landscape architect Andrea Cochran designed this garden in Atherton, CA, about a half hour's drive south of San Francisco. With terraced garden beds of lavender behind low hedges, it's one of our Grande Dames: Stately Gardens from the Gardenista Gallery.
Australia
Above: Influenced by Andrea Cochran's work, Sydney-based Garden designer Peter Fudge designed a formal garden with drought tolerant plants including drifts of lavender beneath olive trees. For more of this garden, see Garden Designer Visit: Lavender Fields in Australia.
France
Above: Undulating waves of lavender and perennial grasses are a reminder of the nearby sea on the northern coast of France in a Brittany garden by landscape design firm Cao-Perrot Studio. For more, see Garden Visit: A Seaside Garden in Northern France.
New York
Above: On a Manhattan rooftop, Vanity Fair art director Julie Weiss mixes the purple shades of agastache and lavender (at right) with wild grasses, hydrangeas, and roses. For more of her garden see Garden Visit: At Home with Vanity Fair's Art Director in Manhattan.
Spain
Above: A low hedge of lavender edges a pathway in the southwest Mallorcan garden of a home Danish fashion designer Malene Birger sold recently for €1.295 million. Photograph via Lucas Fox.
Los Angeles
Above: LA-based garden designer Naomi Sanders created a water-wise courtyard garden with a plant list that includes lavender, native California irises, agaves, Iceberg roses and silvery Santolina. For more, see LA Confidential: A Private Courtyard Goes Luxe on a Budget.
Albuquerque
Above: Lavender mingles with Queen Anne's Lace at Los Poblanos Inn, where guests can volunteer to work in the 25-acre garden—a farm, really—which produces much of the food on the menu. For more, see From Farm to Table at Los Poblanos Inn.
Greece
Above: Agapanthus, daisies, lavender, and ornamental grasses create a seaside meadow on the island of Paros off the coast of Greece, designed by garden designer Carolyn Chadwick. For more of the house and garden, see A Greek Seaside Garden That Barely Needs Water.
For more inspiration, see:
- Field Guide: Lavender
- Dry Garden Roundup: Best Drought Tolerant Gardens from the Gardenista Gallery
- Wendy's Secret Garden in Sydney, Australia
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