Use lavender in potpourris, sachets, sleep pillows, and virtually any cosmetic or cleaning agent that you want to scent. Classic companions to roses, helping to hide thorny or bare stems, lavenders play myriad roles in an ornamental garden and send bees into a frenzy.

At least 25 species of lavenders are available. The plants are typically small (less than 3 feet/1 m), many-branched woody shrubs with gray-green or silvery 2-inch (5-cm) leaves, narrow and lance-shaped. In late spring to midsummer, lavenders produce lovely 6- to 8-inch (15- to 20-cm) spikes of tiny, two-lipped purple flowers.

Lavenders require full sun and soil that has a neutral or slightly alkaline (sweet) pH, is rich with organic matter, and that drains in minutes. (Some growers believe that sandy, less fertile soil produces plants with more fragrance.) Buy plants not seeds (you can’t count on species coming true, and seeds usually take forever to germinate), or start from cuttings or by layering (click here for instructions).

Space plants 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 m) apart, depending on the species and how much pruning you want to do. Provide some shelter from wind to protect the flower stalks. Unfortunately, very few lavenders can survive a winter colder than winters in Zone 8.

Click here to find out what Zone you are in.