Lavender Sancho Panza (Lavandula Stoechas Sancho Panza) - You can grow this lovely shrub-like flower from Lavender seeds. Lavandula Stoechas is a Spanish Lavender or also called a French Lavender that can be grown as an annual or a perennial. It is winter hardy in USDA Zone 8 for wintering the plant outdoors. But, grow it in a container, and bring it into an enclosed porch or patio for zones that are colder.

Spanish Lavender herb plants have a dense, rounded, compact habit, and will be covered with blooms all summer long. Spanish Lavender Sancho Panza was cultivated for container use, and it is just the perfect size for a nice ornamental pot. Sancho Panza Lavender prefers full sun and moderately fertile soil that drains well. It is deer resistant, but the bees cannot leave it alone! The foliage is grayish green in color, and bloom spikes that are 4 - 5 inches have pine-cone-shaped blooms of dark purple. The blooms are highly scented.

How To Grow Spanish Lavender: Start the Lavender seeds indoors 8 - 10 weeks before last frost. Use sterile starter mix and sow the herb seeds on the surface, pressing them into the soil. Cover the Lavender seeds very lightly as they need light for germination. Transplant outdoors in mid-spring once frost danger has passed. Space the Spanish Lavender plants 16 inches apart. If growing as a perennial, trim plants back in spring to encourage their dense, rounded habit.