Warm climate lavenders

The lavender family of plants is large. There are some that ring the warmer parts of the Mediterranean and go a little further south that don't even look like the lavenders that we think of as typical. They have a variety of names such as Lavandula buchii var. buchii, Lavandula canariensis subsp. canariensis, Lavendula minutolii var. minutolii, Lavandula roundifolia, or Lavandula pinnata var. pinnata. They have heads with multiple spikes, they don't smell particularly nice, although they do put out a strong odor. It might be that the smell is what helps them survive, nothing wants to eat them. The leaves vary, but in general tend to have a ferny look to them. They are tender, in our northern area we can grow them as annuals, but not perennials - or you can put them in a pot and bring them inside during the winter.