One of several lavenders grown as a backdrop to the Rose Garden, this English lavender is in full flower.
Lavenders (Lavandula) are renowned for their aromatic foliage, and ability to attract bees, and this one, Lavandula x intermedia ‘Seal’ is no exception. Spikes of two-lipped, pale purple flowers are carried on delicate stems aloft a neat dome of lance-shaped, hairy, silvery foliage. L. intermedia is a vigorous species which arose from a cross between L. angustifolia and L. latifolia. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, and is a good choice as a hedging plant, as here. This species is one of 25 species which occur in the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean, North Africa, western Asia and India.