With their heady perfume and stunning visual appeal, lavenders have been prized by gardeners since ancient times. "Lavender" is a truly comprehensive study that enables the reader to research and identify more than 200 lavender species and varieties. With chapters on cultivation, propagation, pests and diseases, and botanical history, this book is as practical as it is authoritative. More than 200 photos document recent advances in color variation that have resulted from intense breeding; plants now available range from deep purple and lilac to white, cream, pink, and red-violet. With so many hardy and dependable plants to choose from, no lavender enthusiast will want to be without this indispensable book.

Author Biography

Virginia McNaughton formerly worked as Botanical Officer at Christchurch Botanical Gardens, New Zealand. She has written articles and lectured widely, and her book The Essential Lavender has served as the leading horticultural text on lavender. Together with her husband, she manages a specialist lavender business, and she is also responsible for the national reference collection of lavender for the Herb Foundation of New Zealand.