English lavender 'Munstead'
Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' · Lamiaceae Popular
A compact, early English lavender with lavender-blue flowers, named for Gertrude Jekyll's garden at Munstead Wood. Hardier than most.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late July
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around English lavender 'Munstead'
The planner designed this bed around English lavender 'Munstead' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why English lavender 'Munstead' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 English lavender 'Munstead' × 3, lavender
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 15, pink
- 3 Yellow ice plant × 7, yellow
- 4 Purple milkweed × 3, purple
- 5 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, daisies, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only lavender.
Why here
- In the middle. At 16 in it is seen over sedum 'Lidakense' (4 in) in front of it.
- A step in the back row. Next to ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft) and purple milkweed (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late June to late July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With yellow ice plant, purple milkweed and Schubert's allium in late June: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as a cottage garden: 23 of the 32 plants (72%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The back corners are held by false sunflower 'Summer Nights' and purple milkweed, the tallest plants on the plan. Low plants run along 92% of the front edge: silver sage, yellow ice plant and sedum 'Lidakense'.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where English lavender 'Munstead' goes in a border
At 16 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
Paler in flower than 'Hidcote' and a little earlier. Grey foliage makes a permanent edging that holds together the changing flowers behind it. Clip it after flowering, never into bare wood.
- A low hedge or edging
- Scent beside paths and seats
- Herb and gravel gardens
What to plant with English lavender 'Munstead'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for six weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid August; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about English lavender 'Munstead'
Does English lavender 'Munstead' need sun or shade?
English lavender 'Munstead' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does English lavender 'Munstead' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does English lavender 'Munstead' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to late July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should English lavender 'Munstead' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many English lavender 'Munstead' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is English lavender 'Munstead' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Contains oils that can cause stomach upset in pets if eaten in quantity.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like English lavender 'Munstead'?
These come closest to doing what English lavender 'Munstead' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late June to late August, yellow, not lavender.
- Wall germander: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in shorter, 6 in narrower.
- Lemon thyme: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in shorter, 4 in narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat English lavender 'Munstead'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after English lavender 'Munstead'?
English lavender 'Munstead' is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall (a recorded partner).
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium': from mid July to late August, 18 in tall.
What does English lavender 'Munstead' look like in winter?
English lavender 'Munstead' keeps its grey-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is English lavender 'Munstead' good for bees and butterflies?
English lavender 'Munstead' is visited by pollinators and butterflies.
More Lavandula
- English lavender 'Hidcote' Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'
- Lavandin 'Grosso' Lavandula x intermedia 'Grosso'
- Lavandin 'Phenomenal' Lavandula x intermedia 'Phenomenal'
- Lavandin 'Provence' Lavandula x intermedia 'Provence'
- Pink English lavender Lavandula angustifolia 'Rosea'
- Spanish lavender Lavandula stoechas
In these guides
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants for butterflies
- Evergreen perennials, ferns and grasses
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 16 in (40 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to late July; upright spires; lavender
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; grey-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- Mediterranean region France, Italy, Spain
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.