Lavender Revolution

Lavender evokes a sense of cottage charm and classic fragrance and they remain one of the most popular and lovely plants to include in your garden. More than 25 years of world-class lavender breeding in Australia has been combined to create the revolutionary Lavinnova® range of lavenders. It contains an extensive selection of gorgeous lavenders with stunning flower and foliage colours, including ‘Ruffles’, ‘Fairy Wings’, ‘Lace’ and ‘The Princess’ lavenders.

There are so many attractive varieties to choose from. Here are just a few to tempt you:

The Lavender ‘Ruffles’ Collection is a very popular range of beautiful lavenders. ‘Razzleberry Ruffles’ has large deep pink ruffled flower wings which sit just above the greyish green foliage.

The Lavender ‘Lace’ Collection is a series of early flowering forms of lavender, bearing a range of gorgeous winged flower heads throughout winter and into early spring. The flowers are borne on stems that sit proudly above the plant, forming tight domes of bright colour and an impressive display for any landscape. ‘Violet Lace’ has intense deep purple flowers on a plant that grows to around 70cm high and wide.

Lavender ‘Pinkberry Ruffles’ has delicate pale pink ruffled flower wings and grey green foliage. They are both neat compact plants, growing to around 70cm tall and wide. Their main flowering period is from late winter through spring and they look fantastic when grown as an informal border or hedge, as a garden bed feature plant or planted into containers to bring fragrance and colour to entertaining areas.

Lavender ‘Ghostly Princess' Beautiful silver foliage and aromatic pink flower heads are features of Lavender ‘Ghostly Princess’. It’s neat and compact, growing to around 70cm tall and wide, with the main flowering flush from late winter through spring. It makes a stunning hedge, feature or container plant and works wonderfully when planted in mixed shrub and floral borders, including in coastal areas.

Lavender images courtesy of Plant Growers Australia.

Lavender Care

Lavenders prefer a full sun position in well drained soil or a good quality potting mix like Yates® Premium Potting Mix. In areas with acidic soil, apply some fast acting Yates® Hydrangea Pinking Liquid Lime & Dolomite to raise the soil pH, as lavenders prefer a slightly alkaline soil. Lavenders are tolerant of dry conditions once established, needing an occasional deep watering during hot weather. Plants should be pruned by up to a third each year after flowering, to keep them bushy and promote fresh new growth.

Lavender foliage releases a delightful fragrance when brushed against, so hedging a pathway with lavender provides a lovely aroma as well as beautiful flowers. Lavenders also work well when planted repeatedly throughout border gardens and potted displays. Lavenders attract pollinating insects, so are ideal to include near vegie patches and fruit trees to improve pollination.

To encourage healthy growth and lots of flowers, feed lavender plants every 6–8 weeks with Yates® Thrive® Natural Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food. Spread the pellets around the root zone of both in-ground and potted plants. Yates Thrive Natural Roses & Flowers contains a special combination of more than 50% natural ingredients, boosted with fast acting fertilisers, including flower-promoting potassium, to encourage both vigorous green leaf growth and lots of beautiful lavender flowers.