No English garden is complete without lavender. And it is one of the very best plants for bees!

Some bee experts believe that lavender is the number one plant for gardeners to grow for honey bees. Why? Lavenders are certainly rich in nectar, but the most important thing about them is that they flower in midsummer when there is surprisingly little forage about, and honey bee colonies are at their biggest and hungriest.

Lavender is a beautiful grey-leaved ornamental plant with lovely flowers, a marvelous scent, and the ability to survive low water conditions. It can be allowed to grow into open bushy plants or trimmed into hedges. It is grown for its flowers, for use in lavender-scented products, and as a culinary herb.

Lavandula angustifolia, English Lavender

The two varieties of lavender that are most common in the USA have very English names. Hidcote Lavender, named for Hidcote Manor Garden, grows to about 20”. Its lower growing cousin, Munstead Lavender, is named for the home of the great English garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.

And, like so many bee-friendly plants, lavender is deer-resistant!!