Lavender is a traditional cottage garden plant.
Its gray-green spikes of foliage and purple flowers provide color all year. The plant may grow to a height of 0.8 m, but there are dwarf forms for edging which reach only about 0.25 m. The stems are thick and woody, and become straggly if left unpruned. The leaves are long, spiky, and very narrow, and branch out near the ground. The tiny tubular flowers are carried on long spikes in thick clusters that surround the stem from the tip to about 0.1 m down.