Lavandula angustifolia Siesta - True Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia 'Siesta' is the tallest variety of lavender with dark flowers! It is a vigorous selection which forms a compact and regular cushion of silvery grey linear leaves. From June to July, it produces short spikes of fragrant deep blue-violet flowers on 80 cm (32in) tall stems. This cultivar responds well to pruning. A versatile perennial for sunny gardens, thriving in dry, poor, and well-drained soil.

This variety of lavender belongs to the family of Lamiaceae, and is native to the Mediterranean regions of southern Europe. It forms a shrub of small size, measuring 50 cm (20in) in all directions, with an erect, very compact, dense, and vigorous habit, forming a rounded bushy tuft.  Its decorative evergreen foliage is composed of aromatic narrow leaves of a beautiful bright silvery gray colour. In summer, this lavender is covered with fragrant and honey-producing flowers, carried by short cylindrical spikes at the ends of woody stems. This dark blue lavender requires, like most other lavenders, to be planted in full sun in ordinary soil (even dry and rocky soil), which is well-drained. In a sunny and warm location, its green foliage will be vibrant and its flowers will emit an intense fragrance.

The lavender is an ornamental and Mediterranean plant par excellence, and can be used in flower beds, as a specimen plant, in borders, rockeries, pots, seaside areas, and even as a low-flowering hedge. It offers endless possibilities to the gardener, with its graphical appearance, the colour of its foliage, and its deep blue flowers. Lavender 'Siesta' can be associated with grasses or gauras, which, with their tousled appearance, will contrast with its rounded form and create a very graphical scene. It will also work wonders at the base of climbing roses, combined with shrubs such as St. John's wort, cistus, landscape roses, shrubby salvias; or mixed with Iris germanica and poppies.  You can also plant it to create beautiful containers to be placed on the patio or balcony.  It is also possible to mix several varieties of lavender together, creating an elegant display with a variety of flower and foliage colours, as well as different plant sizes.

Properties: As lavender is a very nectar-rich plant, it contributes to the conservation of bees: the nectar from its flowers attracts bees, making some of the best honey.  The plant can be distilled to obtain highly sought-after essential oil for perfume and aromatherapy.  Lavandula angustifolia is a medicinal plant.  Its numerous therapeutic properties are still widely used: its essential oil has antiseptic, antispasmodic, healing, cleansing, diuretic, and other properties.

Anecdote: During 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 and thus deceive their husbands.