SKU: 32558322968
darkest lavender flower

darkest lavender flower Hidcote Lavender – Deep Purple English Lavender AGM

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Description

darkest lavender flower Hidcote Lavender – Deep Purple English Lavender AGMVariety: Hidcote Species: Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) Colour: Deep purple blue the darkest of the classic English lavenders Foliage: Evergreen, aromatic, narrow silver grey leaves Height: 4560cm (1824in) Spread: 4575cm Flowering: July to August, roughly two weeks after Munstead Scent: Strong, classic English lavender. Probably best for drying and bags Hardiness: Fully hardy throughout the UK RHS AGM: Yes first awarded 1932, reconfirmed

  • Variety: Hidcote
  • Species: Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender)
  • Colour: Deep purple-blue — the darkest of the classic English lavenders
  • Foliage: Evergreen, aromatic, narrow silver-grey leaves
  • Height: 45–60cm (18–24in)
  • Spread: 45–75cm
  • Flowering: July to August, roughly two weeks after Munstead
  • Scent: Strong, classic English lavender. Probably best for drying and bags
  • Hardiness: Fully hardy throughout the UK
  • RHS AGM: Yes — first awarded 1932, reconfirmed 2002
  • Introduced: Selected at Hidcote Manor Garden, Gloucestershire, by Major Lawrence Johnston
  • Sold as: Pot-grown plants (P9, 2L and 5L available depending on season)
  • Plant outdoors: From late April onwards when soil is warming. May is safer in the North
  • Delivered: From April/May, weather dependent

Hidcote Lavender — The One Everyone Knows

There is a reason Hidcote is the bestselling lavender in the country. The colour is deeper and richer than any other English lavender, a true imperial purple-blue that you notice from the other side of your garden. The flower spikes are taller and more upright than Munstead's, giving a hedge or border that characteristic look — a low wall of silver foliage with purple spears standing to attention above it. The scent is strong, the bees love it, and the flowers dry beautifully for bags and bunches. If you have never grown lavender before but want the one you've seen in photographs of English gardens, this is it.

Hidcote flowers a couple of weeks later than Munstead, which is worth knowing if you're planting both — you get a longer season using them together, the paler blue opening first and the darker purple following on. It is fully hardy in the UK and will put up with (actually prefers) poor soil and handles exposed sites and coastal winds without complaint. Left unpruned it will eventually look like a bad centre parting, as all lavenders can, but an annual trim after flowering keeps it tight for years. (My eldest half-sister who was a great gardener bought her Hidcote from Ashridge in 2004 and it was still going strong and looking good when she died more than 10 years later - Ed.) The RHS has given it an Award of Garden Merit twice — in 1932 and again in 2002 — which says something about a plant that has been around for the best part of a century and still more than holds its own against all the newer introductions.

The American Who Made English Gardens

Hidcote takes its name from Hidcote Manor Garden, near Chipping Campden in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. The garden was created from bare fields starting in 1907 by Major Lawrence Johnston; one of the more unlikely figures in English horticulture. Born in Paris in 1871 to a wealthy American family, educated at Trinity College Cambridge, he became a naturalised British citizen, fought in the Boer War and both World Wars, and also spent forty years turning a windswept hilltop into what is now one of the most visited gardens in England. Johnston was a passionate plant collector who sponsored expeditions to China and South America, but his real genius was in design: the garden at Hidcote is laid out as a series of "rooms" divided by hedges, each one with a different character. It was the first garden-only property the National Trust accepted, in 1948, and the "outdoor room" idea that Johnston pioneered is now so widely used that we forget someone had to invent it.

The lavender that carries the Hidcote name was one of Johnston's own selections from the garden — chosen for the depth of its colour and the compactness of its habit. It was awarded its first RHS AGM in 1932, when garden lavenders were far less numerous than they are now. Nearly a century later, with dozens of newer cultivars to compete against, it is still great.

Planting Companions

Hidcote's deep purple is strong enough to anchor almost any planting combination. For a two-tone lavender hedge, alternate it with Rosea — the pale pink against the dark purple is a classic. Plant it in front of Grosso for a stepped effect, with the taller Dutch lavender's longer spikes rising behind. For a white-and-purple combination in a contemporary border, pair it with Edelweiss. Beyond lavender, Hidcote sits beautifully with rosemary, with catmint tumbling at its feet, with old roses above it, or with nothing at all — a simple line of Hidcote along a warm stone path is hard to improve on.

Why Use Ashridge?

Your Hidcote lavender is grown here and sent to you when planting conditions are right. We deliver by next-day courier, and your plants come with our guarantee and friendly advice if you need it from real people in Somerset. Have a look at our full English lavender collection or browse all our lavender plants. We also hold a Feefo Platinum Service Award — which means a lot of our customers are happy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best lavender for hedging in the UK?

On balance, probably Hidcote. It has the strongest colour contrast, holds its shape well with annual pruning, and is completely hardy. Planted at three per metre (33cm apart) you will have a solid hedge by the end of the first summer if you start with 2L pots, or by the second summer with P9s. More detail in our lavender growing guide.

Is Havana lavender better than Hidcote?

They are very similar. Havana is a newer Dutch-bred variety that has flowers of the same colour, at the same time, to about the same height. Some growers say its winter foliage stays neater. Both have the RHS AGM. Havana is fractionally more compact but here on the nursery we think Hidcote's summer foliage has the edge.

Can I grow Hidcote lavender in a pot?

Of course - all lavender does well in containers. Use a pot at least 30cm across with good drainage holes and a gritty, loam-based compost. Don't overfeed it — lavender flowers better when it's hungry. Full advice in our lavender growing guide.

How long does Hidcote lavender last?

A well-pruned Hidcote will look good for eight to ten years, sometimes longer on very free-draining soil. After that, plants tend to get woody and thin at the base. However when replacement time comes you can simply plant new plants where your old ones were - no worries about replant disease.

Does Hidcote lavender need full sun?

It needs as much sun as you can give it. A south-facing or west-facing position is ideal. In anything less than about six hours of direct sun, the flowers will be fewer, the colour less intense, and the plant more inclined to splay open. If your only available spot is partly shaded, you will get a plant that survives but never quite looks the way you hoped.

When should I prune Hidcote lavender?

A light shape in early spring — late February to March — then a proper trim after flowering in late August or September. Our lavender pruning guide has the detail.

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4.7 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
R
Rabbit 519
Birmingham, US
★★★★★ 4
A very good book if you will travel the Camino de Santiago as a pilgrim
Format: Hardcover
This book captures the flavor of each of eight Caminos to reach Santiago de Compostela (there are more than that, but not given more than a mention - these are the main ones). The Caminos take you from where they enter Spain from France and Portugal all the way to Santiago de Compostela; the exception is the one from Lisbon. You can almost "feel" the experience of each walk. The book will help you select a Camino, based on from where you are coming, what you'd like to see (scenery, towns, villagers, etc.), and how much stamina you have. The book starts off with a wonderful history of the the Caminos from when they were developed through modern times, and how they changed over time, not just in terms of physical changes, but in terms of the types of people who traversed them (pilgrims to hippies) and how they evolved with various religions and politics of the times. There is a very nice synopses of the eight Caminos, highlighting the differences between them. This provides an overview of why you may or may not consider taking that Camino. The book then goes into detail about each one, elaborating on what I wrote in the first paragraph above. This is where one gets an excellent "feel" for the Camino, enabling you to determine if it is for you or not. It also gives you basics on things to see and do along the way, including places that would be great and welcoming for pilgrims. Don't expect too much detail here, but certainly enough to give you the flavor of the Camino. All sections, but especially this one, have excellent photos to complement the text. The culminating chapter, of course, is the one on Santiago de Compostela. This one was a bit disappointing, as it provided only a bit over one page of text on the sites there. I would have thought there would be more, especially about the Cathedral itself, as that is the destination the travelers had spent days to reach. Instead, it basically just listed a bit more than bullets of what to see in the Cathedral. One third of the text in this Chapter was about the museums. There was practically nothing about the squares around each side of the Cathedral and all the places along them. For this city, I would suggest a different tour book if you want to see more. I have the hard cover book, which was very nice for me to read at home. However, if I were to go on one of the Caminos, I would take no more than a Kindle, which is nowhere near as unwieldy as a large, heavy book. If I didn't like Kindles, I would want to bring a paperback, but sadly, the book is not available in paperback. Overall, I believe that the way the author enables one to experience the Caminos is well worth the cost of the book.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2026
M
Matt
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
great guide to hiking (or biking) the Camino de Santiago trails
Format: Hardcover
Spain is one of my favorite European destinations, and while I have not done the Camino de Santiago yet, it is an area that is definitely on my radar for an upcoming trip. This book focuses on the trails and the regions they pass through, and gives quite a bit of detail and background to successfully plan a trip there. Now, I am not religious, and I am purely interested in the historical and cultural aspects of the region, not looking to have a spiritual experience. Fortunately the book is written in such a way that it is respectful to those who *are* looking for the latter, but it doesn't focus on it as much as I feared that it might. So it'll be useful to me in planning my travels. The one issue that I have about this book, which I *almost* took a star off of my rating for, is that the book is a little *too* sturdy. My big complaint with the regular DK travel guides in recent years is that they've gone to cheaper paper, cheaper covers, and cheaper binding than they used to use, to the point that they feel almost fragile to me. This book, ironically made as a guide for hiking and biking trips, has the opposite problem... It's hardcover, and it's kind of bulky. I mean, that's great, normally I'd be in favor of that... But if I'm going to be hiking for days or weeks (some of the trails in this book take over three weeks to complete according to the book), the last thing I'm going to want to do is carry this thing around. It's a little baffling that they'd choose this of all books to make hardcover. Honestly, though, I am probably not hiking (at least not for a multi-week trail... maybe for a few days in there, for the rest I'll take a train or rent a car), which is why I decided not to remove a star. But if you will be hiking, it may be something you'll want to consider.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2025
D
Deshrek
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 5
Very beautiful book
Format: Hardcover
It’s not only a tour guide but rather a detail record of the Camino de Santiago history book and the pictures inside this book look so beautiful you may only find in specialized photo albums.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2026
T
The Indie Reviewer
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
Wonderful resource
Format: Hardcover
This spectacular pilgrim guide title Walking the Camino de Santiago, is an excellent production that provides helpful guidance on anything a pilgrim would need to know prior to making this well-known pilgrimage via some not-so-well-known routes and tips. This book stands out in excellence with its simplicity and yet thoroughness in providing chapters on the possible eight pilgrimage routes with history on each one. It provides tips and practical information on things to check out as part of the geographical and cultural landmarks, food, accommodations, etc. The illustrations and photographs in this book make it a stunning work of art and resource. Anyone considering doing this pilgrimage/ retreat would benefit from this book. If nothing else, this book can be gifted to someone considering doing the Camino, and it would make an excellent coffee table conversation starter.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2025
D
David S Ross
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 3
Small hardcover: get the Kindle version instead
Format: Hardcover
This is a small format hardcover with 6.5 x 8.5 inch pages. As an armchair traveler I was hoping for more illustrations and I also found the small print, generally small photos and illustrations and the small captions on the illustrations quite frustrating. I would actually recommend the Kindle version instead since it is less expensive and allows you to better expand the illustrations to get a much better view. There’s a good description of eight of the more popular Caminos including the best known “French Way” which stretches almost 500 miles from the French border area to Santiago de Compostole in Western Spain. Learning about the history of the pilgrimage routes which stretches back more than 1000 years was interesting and the maps provide a good general sense of the different routes. The day by day accounts tend to be a bit boring without larger illustrations. This is a decent introduction for someone like me who only thought there was a single Camino de Santiago. Still I wish I had the Kindle version instead of the print version in this case.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2026

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