Trouble is they all eventually get leggy and woody - my Garden encyclopaedia says they do not make long term inhabitants, and will probably need replacing every 5 years. They are quite easy to get cuttings from though, so best thing is to raise cuttings after 3 or 4 years. My favourite is L. 'Munstead Dwarf', neat grower, prolific flowering. Dutch lavender gets much bigger if you want larger bushes. Trim over after the first main flush of flowers is over, taking about an inch of leaf as well, and then trim over again end July or August, when the second main flush is over, again taking some topgrowth but, as you probably know, don't cut into old wood. If we have an Indian summer, you may need to trim them again before the winter sets in.

Thanks Bamboo - if they even lasted 3 years that would be great. Didn't realise you had to cut them back after each flush - just thought you left them until the end of the season. Perhaps that's what we did wrong last time and even though we cut back, they were very scraggy in the 2nd year so we just pulled out once they had finished flowering.

I have Lavender Hidcote Cg in it's third year, bought as plug plants and have been very pleased with it. The flowers which are dark blue, have been out for about a month now and the plants have made small mounds about a foot high with flowers another foot on top. We have quite a few French Lavenders too which have been hardy in our garden even with the last winter, my favourite of these is Lavender stoechas...the flowers lasting at least 2 months. I give them a haircut only after flowering and that seems to suit them through to the next year.

Thanks Janey - I noticed the name Hidcote on the web when looking for different types. Perhaps different varieties needs trimmed at different times. I'll need to look into a bit more & maybe get a few different varieties. Grateful for anyones suggestions of nice varieties though that flower well & are hardy. We had -17 here during the winter & it killed a few "hardy" plants.