LAVANDULA x ginginsii 'Goodwin Creek Grey'

Interesting hybrid of the Lavandula genus, perennial and evergreen, with a fast growth, cushion-like, thick and round shape: when fully developed it can grow 60 cm tall and a little larger. Densely branched and well lignified from the base, it has numerous stems which, dividing repeatedly and assuming an erect or slightly spread outward trend, give the plant a globular and compact shape. The leaves, small and lanceolate with acute apex and lobed margins only near the tip, tomentose, velvety, grey-green in color, are arranged oppositely, with rather short internodes. From late spring and until the arrival of autumn, abundant stems, thin and long, come off from the terminal part of the branches, crowned by spike inflorescences made up of tiny purple flowers, desired by bees and insects in general.

It prefers sunny or bright locations and poor, dry, sandy and above all well-drained and permeable soils. It tolerates even protracted periods of drought and adapts to the presence of salt in the sea winds of coastal locations. It resists winter minimum temperatures even several degrees below zero and therefore grows even in regions characterized by prolonged and intense cold. In autumn it may be convenient to intervene with the removal of dry, broken or bulky parts and, with the elimination of withered stems, prune and shorten all the herbaceous stems even conspicuously, avoiding touching the woody parts which lack a good capacity to recover: with this periodic annual operation, plants with dense foliage and increasingly generous blooms will be obtained. Fast growing and equally fast physiological aging, it is perfect on terraces and balconies in capacious pots and containers, taking care of the draining aspect; in the open ground it is used, arranging various specimens in sequence, to create borders with a strong Mediterranean flavor or, combined with essences with contrasting foliage or contrasting blooms, to create interesting mixed borders: however, do not exclude the possibility of making it the absolute king of flower beds and corners of our garden, which will be dressed in silver with great elegance by this plant.