Plant This Pretty Botanical to Keep Deer Out of Your Yard

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English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is a dreamy perennial plant that evokes hazy summer afternoons lounging in a cozy cottage garden. Native to the Mediterranean (not England, as you might assume), English lavender plants are at home in any garden with a similar climate, whether yours has a charming coastal grandmother aesthetic or the wild and whimsical kind you get from chaos gardening.

English lavender isn't difficult to grow if you give it the right conditions. For starters, it doesn't mind poor soil and actually prefers well-draining, sandy, or gritty soil. However, it won't tolerate clay soil and may develop root rot, so you're better off planting it in containers if your yard has heavy soil.

Planted in masses or as a border, lavender makes a striking addition to your garden with its silvery-green foliage and spikes of delicate purple-blue flowers. There are many different cultivars, or cultivated varieties, but most types of English lavender reach two to three feet tall and two to four feet wide with a shrubby form.

Another reason to love English lavender? It attracts the wild creatures you want. Pollinators love it, and deer and bunnies tend to avoid it because of its fuzzy texture and strong scent.

English lavender grows in USDA Hardiness zones 5 to 9. If you live in a warmer or coastal region, look for lavandin, or lavender hybrids (Lavandula x intermedia), which are better suited to hot and humid climates. Or consider Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas), which is more tolerant of hot summers and mild winters.

Read on to learn everything else you need to know about how to grow English lavender.

How Do I Grow English Lavender?

Plant seedlings rather than seeds, which take months to germinate and forever to bloom (as in years!). Lavender needs full sun, so pick a spot that receives six or more hours of direct sunlight a day. (Your plants will become leggy and won't bloom well in the shade.) Plant English lavender in containers if your garden beds don't get the right sun exposure.

Dig a hole about two to three times the size of the pot, then place the lavender plant in the hole at the same depth as it was in the pot. Backfill the soil and tamp it down firmly. Water a young plant well every couple of days for the first week or two, but don't keep lavender soaking wet because it hates having soggy feet.

Although mulch is usually recommended to conserve moisture in garden beds, lavender actually prefers to stay on the dry side. So don't bother mulching or use fast-draining, light-colored pea gravel instead of hardwood mulch.

Also, you don't need to fertilize! Lavender actually prefers low-nutrient soil. Fertilizing often encourages lackluster blooms and spindly growth that won't survive the winter.

Should I Prune Lavender?

Yes, but with care. Wait until spring and be patient: Lavender may take longer to come to life than other perennials in your garden. Trim off any dead parts, but be conservative about what you're removing—and never cut it back to the ground.

English lavender usually blooms in early to mid-summer for about a month, but if you deadhead it, aka trim off spent blooms, you may get a few subsequent flushes of flowers.

Can I Grow English Lavender Indoors?

Unfortunately, no. Most lavender needs a winter chill period to flower the next season. No chill equals no flowers!

How Do You Dry English Lavender?

It's easy to make dried lavender you can use in long-lasting bouquets, drawer sachets, or even in cocktails, lemonades, and baked goods. In fact, English lavender is the preferred type of lavender for culinary purposes.

Dry English lavender flowers whole by snipping them off the stems just as the buds begin to open. Place them in a vase (without water) or tie them together and hang them upside down in a dark, cool location, such as an unused closet. Use your fingertips to rub off the buds once they're dry, and store them in a lidded glass jar.

Lavandula angustofolia 'Munstead'

Lavandula x intermedia 'Phenomenal'

Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'

Lavandula x intermedia 'Provence'

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