In the Garden

Purple really wakes up a spring garden. It’s a cool, soft color that shimmers in the morning dew and icy coating of a late frost, catching the first bit of sun and shaking off the last vestiges of winter.

I love deep purple pansies, violet vinca blooms that pair so well with yellow daffodils in April and the blue-purple flowers that cover spiky perennial sages and salvias in spring.

And now there’s a new dwarf English lavender that I can’t wait to try. Called Lavandula angustifolia ‘Thumbelina Leigh,’ this fragrant heavy-blooming perennial boasts dark lavender flowers and sturdy blue-green stems that should stay attractive all summer.

(photo from High Country Gardens)

The new compact ‘Thumbelina Leigh’ will grow about 12 inches tall, with a spread of 12 to 15 inches. It’s perfect for the front of a perennial border or along a walkway — or try it in a container, by itself or with a bunch of other fragrant herbs. Like other lavenders, this one is deer resistant, too.

Cut back the flowers after they fade and you’re likely to get another rebloom or two.

Don’t pamper your lavender. Like many other Mediterranean herbs, it likes hot, baking sun and lean, sharply drained soil. You don’t need to water lavender once it’s established and you certainly don’t want to feed it or plant it in compost-rich loamy soil.

Alas, I find most varieties not as hardy as I’d like — my lavender seems to just disappear in hard Hudson Valley winters. So I’m eager to try this new ‘Thumbelina Leigh,’ which promises to be cold hardy down to USDA Zone 5.

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