I'm no expert by any means but I've had very good luck with various varieties of thyme right outside of Boston. In the South of France, lavander grows wild in rocky and very dry conditions along with thyme and rosemary. I however think that some varieties are more tolerant of the cold than others. They all require full sun as far as I know.

I just bought lavender "provence" from Andrew's Greenhouse in zone 5. They touted it as a heartier form of lavender, one that is grown specifically for perfumes. Oh, by the way, i have seen wisteria sinesis at Home Depot. :) (western MA, so i'm assuming thru other ones in ma as well)

I tried growing Lavender for 3 years, with different plants in different spots and they never over-wintered. Maybe I should try that one.

The invasive Wisteria is the Chinese one, Wisteria sinensis. It's so beautiful but apparently grows into a monster that takes over and is very difficult to eradicate. Wisteria frutescens is the one that is native to North America and apparently much better-behaved.

Here is a link that might be useful: American Wisteria (wikipedia)

I don't grow lavender, but my neighbor (in Weymouth) does. I was just watching a segment on growing lavendar over the weekend. It prefers soil with low fertility apparently. If I am recalling right, from previous reading, this is a sub-shrub and should not be cut down in the fall. You could start by trying one plant and seeing how it does.

I've found Lavender to be kind of tricky. I've grown Lavender 'Munstead' and 'Lady' in the past. They do well for a few years then we'll have a really cold, windswept winter and they suffer from die back or disappear. So I replaced them for a couple of years when they'd die (probably every 3 to 4 years).

Recently I planted the 'Provence' version mentioned above. These are doing great this year. So we will see how they survive the winter.

Lavender growing tips:
-Likes alkaline soil (most NE soil is acidic so may be give some lime)
-Does not like a wet area (but also not a very dry area in my experience)
-Don't cut back foliage in the fall (except flowers and stalks). Then in spring, cut back the dead branches and shape the plant. This is what I've done and it has worked well for me.
-Seems to suffer if there isn't snow cover so may be mulch with fallen leaves in the fall to protect it over winter.

It's a little warmer here than in Boston, but not by much, so I think you should have similar results with lavender (one of my favorite plants).

My happiest and most long-lived lavenders are in areas that are slightly raised above the surrounding soil - it really likes to be dry in winter but likes average water levels during the growing season.

My favorite cultivar is 'Grosso' - here's what High Country Gardens says about it:

This long-stemmed beauty has the darkest blue-purple flower spikes of any of the French hybrid types. It is also the most cold hardy French hybrid lavender cultivar. A heavy bloomer, the flowers have a strong lavender fragrance with a hint of camphor. The calyxes cling tightly to the flowering stems when dried, making ÂGrosso an excellent choice as an everlasting flower or for use in lavender crafts. Zones 5-10. 30" x 24-30" wide.

If you deadhead fanatically, you can get a second flush of blooms on some varieties. I've only had Grosso (identified!) for a couple of years, so I don't know if that will work on this cultivar.

Lady is very easy from seed, and can be grown as an annual, as it flowers the first year.

Lavender really hates to be crowded - most of my garden is underplanted with common thyme and other assorted creepers, which I have to constantly hack back from the lavenders. If the lavs don't have enough space, they get a lot of die-back of the leaves along the lower branches - very unsightly.

The pros will tell you to replace your plants every few years because they get woody and awkward. I happen to like that look so I usually just leave mine in place. They also can be propagated by softwood cuttings, but I haven't tried that yet.

After the numerous attempts to grow lavender in my well watered, mulched, acidic clay where they survived two seasons the most I finally provided something to their liking:
- poor, gravely, well drained and not mulched neutral soil,
- full sun with no additional watering,
and clearly see the results: nice, healthy, long blooming plants in their 4th season.

Hidcotee and Munstead which blooms earlier, in June, with deadheading will rebloom in late August-September, while Grosso being a late bloomer (mid July-early August) might sparsly bloom toward the end of October, but I wouldn't realy count on that.
Oh yea, when pruning in a spring DON'T cut into woody stems, cut just slightly above old wood.

Thank you everyone! Now I have what I need to get started. There is one area in particular around my house that gets full sun, so it looks like I'll be trying some lavender over there. I can't wait to have that beautiful scent coming in through my bedroom window next Summer! (fingers crossed)

Hi, Everyone! Benign neglect, benign neglect, benign neglect:-)

To help you choose which plant to go in your good spot next Spring -- lavs have a hard time getting established if planted much past now -- some additional science might help ....

Most of the Lavandula angustifolia (Hidcote, Munstead, Lady, Alba, Jean Davis, White Edge, Nana, the Twinkles etc. etc.) are reliably hardy to zone 5.

All the growing suggestions above are great, with the addition of: No Mulch, especially in winter, that comes to the trunk of the shrub.

'Grosso' and 'Provence' are forms of L. intermedia, commonly called Lavindin. Another L. i. great variety for Z5 is Dutch Mill.

Anything labeled "Spanish" or that has dentate (ridged) foliage will not be hardy no matter what you do to it. Some labeled "French" will also be marginal.

When you get your plants, whenever possible, get them from the Herbs rather than Perennials section of the nursery. Growers of herbs "get" lavender -- many perennial growers baby it too much. LOL

Experiment with seed starting. For the price of one plant you can get three packs of seed from reputable folks and end up with 30 plants.

Martie in Z6 Connecticut

Well look at all the lavender lovers coming out of the woodwork...lol.

I also enjoy lavender and have always had some in my garden. I have clay/loam soil that is just past neutral into acidic.

I have only tried a few varieties. It has been a long time since I tried anything new. Lavender 'Lady' was recommended to me when I was having trouble growing lavender and that was the first variety that worked for me. It is very easy to grow from seed which was also a plus.

One other tip that I agree with is planting them in a raised bed or area where there is good drainage. I read once that the problem with them making it over the winter, is more whether they have good drainage during the winter months. Mine is in a sloped area and 'Lady' came back for me every year. It did get to the point that it was pretty old and I started more plants from seed last year, which are doing very well.

No Wisteria experience here.

Good luck!