Lavender, which has the botanical name Lavandula Angustifolia, is among the most popular ornamental plants around our homes and gardens. With light purple, or more rarely white flowers and an intense, characteristic and pleasant fragrance, they are always a welcome and smelled guest both inside the apartment, but much more so in the garden or on the balcony. In order that the pleasure of lavender lasts for a long time, it should be given the ideal location for him.
Location
Originally, the lavender comes from the Mediterranean region and prefers sunny and dry slopes. Although Lavandula Angustifolia, the most widespread lavender species in Europe, is hardy and adapted to the growing conditions in Central Europe, the various lavenders thrive best in their original environment. Therefore, all locations, whether as an outdoor or indoor plant, should have the following requirements:
Good lighting, preferably direct sunlight, also unshaded south-facing locations well possible.
Dry soils or substrates with good drainage properties, which do not permanently wet out even in autumn and winter.
From these site requirements, there are numerous possibilities for placement, and lavender can wonderfully occupy sites where numerous other representative plants are eliminated for various reasons.
Location options outdoors
The use of various lavender varieties outdoors is classic. The plant, which usually occurs as a semi-shrub, i.e. woody only in the lower area, forms a central pivot of any garden design with a bushy growth and a multitude of color-intensive flowers, both as a solitary shrub and as an area planting. Of course, each open space design results in individual locations for which the lavender comes into question. The following locations, on the other hand, can be found again and again in the most diverse garden concepts and are particularly suitable for these pleasing labiates due to their peculiarities:
- Rock gardens and planting or replanting of decorative stone objects, borders – usually quite lean soils without large nutrient reserves and higher temperatures in the area of heat-retaining stones.
- South-facing exterior walls, garden houses, retaining walls – large heat supply due to protected location, high solar radiation and heat storage capacities of surrounding building components
- Green roofs – low soil structure leads to good drainage without waterlogging, at the same time no nutrient overabundance due to limited soil supply, if technically executed correctly
- As a tub or pot plant almost universally applicable in the garden / balcony, since nutrient supply and drainage capacity in the tub well controllable, pay attention to good sunlight!
The right location in the house or apartment
More and more, the lavender shrub is also establishing itself as a popular pot plant on the windowsill in the living room, dining room or kitchen. Especially in the kitchen area, it enriches the already predominant fragrance world of various herbs with a tart-sweet note. Growing indoors scores points from the outset due to the almost compulsory protected location with significantly higher temperatures than are possible outdoors on average. At the same time, the preferred lean soil in the pot can be adjusted very well and the water and nutrient supply can be regulated optimally. Nevertheless, some indoor locations are more suitable than others. In the search for the perfect location, the following options just come to mind:
- Window sill in the kitchen – due to cooking, baking often quite high room temperatures, but always choose a sunny location!
- Living / dining room – rooms usually south-facing, ideally on the window sill above the heater.
- Balcony – protected location due to proximity to the house, often with good sunlight, good weather protection (if roofed) against excessive moisture in autumn and winter.
Rather unsuitable, on the other hand, are installation locations in bedrooms or study rooms. These rooms are usually oriented to the less sunny cardinal directions and are usually less heated. Although lavender can also be cultivated in bedrooms and workrooms, special attention should be paid in these cases to the location factors of light, humidity and soil conditions.