Both rosemary and lavender are easy-to-grow flowering plants cherished by many gardeners for their potent fragrances that are beneficial in a number of ways. They are both absolute must-have flowers in herb gardens. But can they coexist?
Well, rosemary and lavender make a great classic pair that is sure to look great in your garden. Both these flowering shrubs are native to the Mediterranean, meaning they require similar growing conditions. They grow pretty well on slopes and hillsides, in rocky gardens, or as container plants.
If you already have well-established lavender in your herb garden, planting rosemary to expand your garden can be a great idea. The potent fragrances of these Mediterranean shrubs have a reputation for warding off nuisance bugs, among other benefits.
This post will cover more about lavender companion plants, with a special focus on lavender and rosemary growing together.
Lavender and Rosemary
It takes more than good soil, adequate sunlight, and sufficient nutrients to ensure success in growing plants. When it comes to companion planting, you want to ensure that the plants you consider growing together can thrive as a pair. It is also a good idea to pair plants that benefit each other or benefit your garden as a pair.
Lavender and rosemary make an excellent pair for herb gardens. They are both aromatic and sun-loving flowering herbs with the same cultural needs, requiring little other than well-draining soil and plenty of sunlight.
Besides flourishing in the same conditions, these amazing herbs can coexist in harmony and benefit your garden for years. What’s more, they come in varieties, allowing you to choose options that will provide complementing and contrasting foliage shape and color, sizes, blossom colors, and general aesthetic effects.
Why you may want to interplant rosemary with lavender
Rosemary and lavender are a perfect pair for any herb garden. You might be surprised to learn the many characteristics lavender and rosemary flowers have in common.
First off, they both enjoy warm climates and generally have similar growing requirements, which makes them very compatible. Both rosemary and lavender will thrive in dry, hostile, and barren gardens where other plants would struggle to survive.
They are low-maintenance yet grow to produce very beautiful flowers with potent scents.
Their strong, intoxicating fragrances are cherished by many gardeners and have proven to be very beneficial, performing vital roles in a sustainable garden. When interplanted, lavenders and rosemary flowers attract a variety of pollinators and beneficial insects, including bees, butterflies, and dragonflies.
Notably, along with attracting pollinators and beneficial insects, the scents produced by both lavender and rosemary flowers are known to repel bugs like mosquitoes and flies. As such, you and the plants in close proximity to your herb garden can benefit massively from this insect repellent propensity.
If you are concerned with differences, rosemary plants usually have relatively waxier, dark green, needle-like leaves and bloom into piney, earthy scented flowers. The tiny purple flowers are edible as the leaves and can be used to add aroma to many recipes.
On the other hand, lavenders have silvery, smoky gray-green foliage and most varieties bloom into purple-pink flowers known for their sweet, soothing aroma. They are more cold-tolerant than rosemary flowers, so if you live to the north of USDA zone 8, you may not enjoy the benefits of this pair.
Can you plant rosemary and lavender together: Conclusion
Lavender and rosemary are beautiful Mediterranean herbs guaranteed to spruce up any herb garden. They have the same cultural needs, so you will have an easy time interplanting them.
For gardeners living in USDA plant hardiness zone 8 and up, interplanting rosemary and lavender is a beautiful and beneficial choice. They are rabbit and deer-resistant, so you can plant them where wildlife roams.
Other plants that get along with lavender are sage and thyme.
Related Article: When is Too Late to Harvest Lavender?