Lavender Phenomenal

There is the occasional plant that just stands out in the garden.  Maybe not the most showy or most fragrant or most anything, but sort of all of those.  An online friend developed this cultivar and I added it to the garden in the fall of 2014.  Probably should have been planted in the spring, but didn't find one until then.  Lavender here in SE Ohio is an iffy proposition.  Some will do well sometimes.  Most don't do well at all.  We're too damp, too cold, soil is too heavy.  Any number of problems.  People were raving about Lavender 'Phenomenal' and how it would take just about anything, even in zone 6 which is at the edge of the range, despite what the plant catalogs will try and tell you.  The wonderfully hardy (and pretty and fragrant) plant made it through 20 below zero with no protections.  I thought about covering it, but wanted to really put it to the test.  No more Lavenders that I fall in love with only to have them die rather quickly.  It came through with flying colors and grew and bloomed prolifically this past summer.  Given last year, this winter should be easy.  Here is a photo of it last week, before the snow, and one taken with our 8 inches of white fluff.  Let's just say I'm impressed with this one.  I hope to have some to sell at the nursery this summer if you want to give it a try too.