Growing lavender

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/lavender

This is a good place to start searching. At home I've given up on French lavenders as they don't stand up to the cold. There are some very pretty short stemmed lavenders in multi colours, they look nice mixed together. 

Found this Moulesy, don’t have one myself, but might suit what you want.

https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Lavender_Little_Lady__Lavandula_angustifolia_Little_Lady_.html

I think the key to trying to keep Lavenders small is careful and well timed cutting back, as they can start to get leggy and straggly. I give mine a cut after first flowering, keeping the wonderful seeds of course, and then always cut them into shape around end of September, well before any hint of a frost, maybe a tad later if it’s very warm. That said, I do lose a few, after our cold Winter this time, I have lost a few indeed.

I love Carnations and Roses as companion plants to Lavender. Carnations are easy, might need a bit of support, but just use twigs. Once you read about roses, and with some careful choices, they are easy to look after and give so much back. You don’t want any that get too tall. Or perhaps limit to two or three standard roses, underplanted with Lavenders and other things? You won’t need to bend down to prune then🤣

Edit, you could mix up Carnations (which can get tall) with lower growing Dianthus, smaller ans clove scented👍

Another idea, one that has worked well for me up at Mum’s, is to select some very colourful herbs to plant with your Lavenders. Rosemary, different Thymes, Sages, Chives, Fennel for a bit of height. There are some fabulous colourful herbs, Bronze Fennel, Tri colour Sage, etc….. they need similar care to Lavender, and of course you can cook with them😁 Sometimes it’s the contrasting foliage as well as colours that can look stunning, soft fennel, spiky rosemary and lavender, small bushy Thymes. Carnations in with these give that pop of colour and possible the best scent other than roses.

We have used the above company for plants before, had 100% success with every plant, so can recommend. 

Good luck with it. Like Brue, I am often seduced by those lovely French Lavenders, but they seldom last long in our weather. If you do go for herbs, DONT plant mint of any kind direct into ground, it’s an absolute thug and spreads like mad😱 I have a Chocolate mint, absolutely gorgeous scent and taste, but firmly in a pot!

This is the variety we have M and it's managed to not only survive our weather but also ourselves. It's thrived where other lavenders have failed.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/59016/i-lavandula-i-times%3B-i-intermedia-i-alba/details

Thanks for those suggestions. We like the "little lady" variety - we have a very good local nursery so I got in touch with them at the weekend. They say to leave it till the middle of next month when the soil has has warmed up and plant then so that fits in with our trip away to Yorkshire and the Peak District at the start of May. 

M, not sure which part of Yorkshire you are visiting, but if anywhere not far from York, this place might be of interest

https://www.yorkshirelavender.com/

Haven’t been personally to this one, but I do know the Norfolk Lavender Centre well, always lots of varieties, and helpful staff👍 We are off to Harlow Carr this Weds, and I suspect I will end up buying at least one Lavender plant🤣 

Thanks for that - we've booked what looks like a lovely cottage in Addingham, right above the river, so not too far from York. (That's where Mr & Mrs M met at university  some 50+ years ago so the place has got a lot to answer for! )

Lovely part of Yorkshire M, is Addingham. My Dad was from York, so we grew up knowing the place well, he loved it. 

Another few Lavenders Moulesy that you could try Lavendula Augustifolia Blue Piston, Blue Caution and Lodden Blue all comapact and good colours, they all grow well here and I also have a lot of shrubby Salvias lots of different colour and have scented leaves and do not need to much watering once established I have quite a few of them and the flowers last well into the Autumn.

Not being a gardening bloke I just remembered your post when I took a trip to " Blue Diamond " ( I think )  Garden Centre at Bridgemere near Crewe / Nantwich and was surprised at the many trays of different named Lavenders  I'm sure they will have details of them on line