I am a big fan of growing herbs, and love the scent of lavender but found many of the products made with Lavender very pricey. So my next step was to find a Lavender plant well suited for our climate that would provide my own harvest of Lavender each year.
Lavender is a native of the Mediterranean region but the good news is that you will find some types very easy to grow here in Colorado. It is a semi-woody perennial shrub plant, so once it is established, will return year after year to produce the wonderfully fragrant blossoms.
Pruning encourages Lavender to have continual and healthy growth and to keep blossoms producing throughout the season. The plants also are attractive to bees which is a great side benefit because as we all know, bees are so important with any landscape and garden.
Here are a couple of great publications that will help you choose the best variety of Lavender for your garden and what growing conditions that will produce the most favorable results: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07245.pdf and http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1015.html.
Hope you try this wonderful herbal shrub and enjoy the results!