Lavandula angustifolia Alba - True Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia 'Alba', also known as true lavender or English lavender, is a shrub with a compact, dense, and bushy habit, with evergreen grey-green aromatic foliage, and abundant summer flowering in spikes of white, honey-scented flowers. Even in the middle of winter, its rounded shape and silver foliage will brighten up the garden.

Lavandula angustifolia 'Alba' belongs to the Lamiaceae family and is native to the Mediterranean regions of southern Europe. This variety of white lavender is a small-sized bush, measuring 50 to 80cm (20 to 32in) in all directions. It is compact, dense, and vigorous, forming a rounded bushy clump. Its decorative evergreen foliage is composed of narrow aromatic leaves of a beautiful silver-green colour. In summer, this lavender is covered with a multitude of highly fragrant honey-scented white flowers, borne on short cylindrical spikes at the ends of woody stems.

Like most other lavenders, Lavandula angustifolia 'Alba' should be planted in full sun in well-drained ordinary soil (even dry and rocky). In a sunny and warm location, its silver-green foliage will be radiant and its white flowers will emit an intense fragrance.

An ornamental and Mediterranean plant par excellence, lavender can be used in borders, as a standalone plant, in rock gardens, in pots, along the coast, and even as a low flowering hedge.

With its sculptural appearance, the colour of its foliage, and its white flowers, there are infinite possibilities for gardeners. This white lavender can be associated with grasses which, with their tousled appearance, will contrast with its rounded shape and create a striking scene. It will also work wonders at the base of climbing roses, paired with shrubs like Perovskia, Vitex agnus-castus, or caryopteris. It can also be mixed with camassias, Iris germanica, hemerocallis, and poppies. You can create beautiful pots to place on a patio or balcony. It is also possible to combine several varieties of lavenders together, creating a harmonious and elegant tableau with a variety of flower and foliage colours, as well as plant sizes and volumes.

Properties: Lavender is a highly honey-scented plant and contributes to the preservation of bees. The nectar from its flowers attracts bees, making it one of the most renowned honeys.

Lavandula angustifolia is a medicinal plant, whose therapeutic virtues were once widely used. Its essential oil has antiseptic, antispasmodic, healing, depurative, diuretic properties, and more.

Anecdote: In Roman times, women who wanted to secretly taste wine (a drink that was forbidden to them) would chew a few sprigs of lavender to perfume their breath, thus outwitting their vigilant husbands.