White lavender

Lavandula x intermedia 'Edelweiss'

Height:
Up to 45cm
Suitable for:
Sunny sheltered spot with well drained soil. Pots and container planting.
Summary:
A more unusual lavender with pure white flowers and lovely silvery grey foliage, the flower colour contrasts well with the more frequently grown purple flowered varieties. It is more compact than some other white lavenders and this makes it ideal for planting as an informal aromatic hedge, either alone or mixed with other lavenders of a similar size.
White lavender: Lavandula x intermedia 'Edelweiss'

A more unusual lavender with pure white flowers and lovely silvery grey foliage, the flower colour contrasts well with the more frequently grown purple flowered varieties. It is more compact than some other white lavenders and this makes it ideal for planting as an informal aromatic hedge, either alone or mixed with other lavenders of a similar size.

Lavender grows and thrives best in a sunny sheltered position, as our winter temperatures are lower than where it originated from, further south in Europe. It likes a light well drained sandy soil, lavender grows well in poor soils where many other plants would struggle.

White lavender combines well grown with cornflowers and pinks, also flowers of pale blue and pastel pink shades. One growing idea is to plant up a rocky area with lavender and then use creeping thyme from our creeping thyme collection to carpet between the lavender plants. Together they will gives swathes of colour.

It is an ideal herb to grow in a container by the house, neat and compact with lovely fragrant flowers and foliage to perfume the air. Like all lavenders it needs to be pruned after flowering to enable it to make a little regrowth before winter.

Lavender, as I'm sure you must realise from our other articles, is a useful and delicious culinary herb with lots of uses both sweet and savoury.

Lavender Lemonade

Cooling and refreshing on a hot day. Makes 4 glasses.

  • 800 ml water
  • zest from 2 lemons
  • 4 tbs lavender flowers
  • 100g (3 ½ oz) sugar
  • 125 ml fresh lemon juice
  • Sprigs of lavender and curls of lemon peel to garnish

In a small pan boil 200ml of water, add the lavender and lemon zest and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine strainer into a tall jug.

Dissolve the sugar in the remainder of the water by warming in a pan and stirring until dissolves. Add the syrup to the lavender essence in the jug and add the lemon juice.

Chill for at least an hour in the fridge before serving over ice garnished lemon peel curls and lavender sprigs.