If you’re looking to jazz up your herb border this spring, Monrovia Nursery has a couple of outstanding new selections to add to your list.
For sunny, hot, dry sites in Zones 7 to 9, consider the new Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas ‘Hazel’. ‘Hazel’ holds its older leaves better than other Spanish lavenders, which often lose their good looks as plants age. This lavender’s 30-inch plants bear a profusion of bright reddish-purple blooms in spring, and lightly rebloom in fall.
A new pink-flowered, dwarf meadow sage (Salvia nemorosa), ‘Sensation Rose’, is ideal for edging sunny beds and borders. Developed by Nico Rijnbeek, the same Dutch breeder who introduced the popular purple-flowered ‘Marcus’ meadow sage, ‘Sensation Rose’ grows just 10 to 12 inches tall and blooms all summer. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9, the plants need little water once established.
Look for both ‘Hazel’ lavender and ‘Sensation Rose’ at your local garden center this spring.