Plant Societies Botanical Gardens Hort. This article written by Deb Mills, CA Master Gardener .
Lavender is one of the world's favorite all time herbs.
It is favored for it's rich, heady summer fragrance and is a great choice for our gardens in our area. Botanically, lavender is known as Lavendula. It belongs to the mint family, having leaves positioned opposite one another on square stems. It is a native to the Mediterranean region and is also found as far east as India. There are 2 species of hardy lavender that are important to the production of lavender oil and also in the home garden.