Lavender: the most beautiful white varieties

Lavandula angustifolia 'Alba'

True lavender or English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, is here in the variety ‘Alba’ to brighten the garden, winter and summer, thanks to its evergreen grey-green foliage in winter and its abundant white summer flowering. It forms a dense, rounded bush, measuring 50 to 80 cm in all directions at maturity. From June to August, it is covered with numerous short cylindrical white spikes, highly fragrant and melliferous. Its narrow aromatic leaves are a beautiful silver-green colour, making it decorative all year round while maintaining a bushy and compact habit over the years.

Use it with blonde grasses like medium-sized Stipas, such as Stipa pennata or Stipa tenuifolia, or small Pennisetum for the softness of the hues, the shine in the sun, and the contrast of leaf shapes. Also plant it at the base of climbing roses, with grey-leaved Wormwoods, with Sedums or Orpins.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Alba’

Lavandula angustifolia 'Arctic Snow'

Light bush, the Lavandula angustifolia ‘Arctic Snow’ stands out for its very pure white flowering, reminiscent of Arctic snow, as its name suggests. Of medium size, reaching 50 cm in height and 60 cm in width, it forms a dense and compact bush, very bright. Its green-grey foliage lightens in dry, hot summers. In July and August, it produces numerous very white flowers. Both its foliage and flowers exude an authentic lavender fragrance, cherished by pollinators. It has good hardiness, around -15° C, suitable for USDA zone 7b.

Plant this rare colour alongside beautiful, underused perennials: lovely pink Evening Primroses, a pretty White Asphodel, a Sisyrinchium striatum with soft yellow, and some grasses, for a natural and romantic scene, all in pastel softness.

You can also take advantage of its pure white to plant it in a contemporary garden, with some grasses as well, and contrasting perennials or cool-coloured plants, such as blue Carex, a grey Wormwood, a dark Cordyline, and an Asiatic Lily.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Arctic Snow’

Lavandula intermedia 'Edelweiss'

Another compact variety, lavender ‘Edelweiss’, also known as Lavandin ‘Edelweiss’, hybrid lavender, or Lavandula intermedia, is a dense, bushy undershrub with a rounded habit, reaching 60 cm in all directions at maturity. Its fine, blue-green foliage, highly aromatic, shines in the sun. Its white flowers, larger than those of other varieties, measuring 7 cm long, exude an intense fragrance. Like its counterparts, it is classified in USDA zone 7a, hardy to about -15° C.

It will thrive alongside Mediterranean shrubs such as: Cistus, bush sages, Myrtle of Taranto, and Convolvulus cneorum, a lovely silver bindweed with superb silky foliage and delicate parachute-like flowers.

Plant it in a white garden alongside Agapanthus, a hybrid Penstemon ‘White Bedder’, and white poppies.

Lavandula intermedia ‘Edelweiss’

Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote White'

Particularly small, True Lavender or Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote White’, has a prestigious name, the reputation of Lavender ‘Hidcote Blue’ is well established! Dense, ‘Hidcote White’ has a compact and rounded, vigorous habit, measuring 45 cm in all directions. It is covered in July and August with small, stout spikes, exuding a divine fragrance, borne on long, slender, leafy stems. It also features beautiful, fine, evergreen foliage in grey-green.

Mix it with some bulbs of Camassias, Iris germanica. Add simple-flowered Daylilies and perennial Poppies. You can also take advantage of the undemanding nature of Lavenders to plant it in a lovely pot on the terrace.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote White’

Lavandula angustifolia 'Silbermöwe'

Smaller still, the Lavandula angustifolia ‘Silbermöwe’ is a very low and dense variety of lavender, measuring 30 cm in height and 30 cm in width. From its bright silver foliage emerge fine stems that bear stout spikes of pure white in summer. Its bushy, rounded clump consists of narrow, aromatic leaves that are very light in colour. In July and August, a multitude of fragrant, melliferous white flowers appear.

Position its small size at the edge in full sun and well-drained soil, alongside Linum perenne or the lovely pastel blue perennial flax, with the small Euphorbia polychroma ‘Purpurea’ and Ophiopogon ‘Nigrescens’. Add a few bulbs of Iris unguicularis or Algerian iris. This will create a lovely tableau of contrasting foliage and flowering.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Silbermöwe’