Lavandula angustifolia Melissa Lilac - 2L pot

The two-tone lavender, already well grown in a 2 litre pot.

Best for

• A soft lilac border with a long season
• Cottage gardens
• Cutting for the vase
• Bees from midsummer to autumn

The lowdown

• English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
• Dark purple in bud, pale mauve in flower: a two-tone effect
• Scented flowers from midsummer into autumn, over grey-green leaves
• Usually about 60cm, up to around 80cm in a happy spot; plant 3 per metre

Keeping it happy

Give it the sunniest spot you have and soil that drains quickly. If your ground is heavy clay, mix in a few handfuls of grit or sharp sand first; lavender likes it lean, and neutral to chalky soil suits it fine.

Soak it once a week for roughly the first three weeks while the roots settle. After that, put the hosepipe away and only water in a long, dry spell: soggy roots are a bigger threat than drought. Once the flowers fade, clip it back into a tidy mound. Stop where there are still green leaves, because bare brown stems rarely sprout again.

English lavender is fully hardy, so it stays out in the garden all winter. Sold as a culinary herb, so you can use the flowers in the kitchen.

What arrives

One Melissa Lilac plant in a 2L pot, ready to go into the ground.