Purple patch
FOR A LOW-MAINTENANCE PLANT THAT LOOKS GOOD ALL YEAR LONG, IT’S HARD TO BEAT LAVENDER
WHEN it comes to plants that earn their keep, lavender is in the top rank. It looks good all year round, with its neat mounds of narrow grey leaves and the aroma it imparts is a great delight.
Then those wonderful spires of purple flowers open in summer and can be cut to make lavender bags for those who like their undies to be pleasantly fragrant.
But choose your variety carefully. My two favourites are “Imperial Gem” and “Hidcote”, since they both have rich purple flowers and are sturdy and upright. Their domes of leaves are neat, too.
“Hidcote Giant” is much taller and its flower stems flop all over the place, getting in the way of the mower and of passing feet – really irritating!
The white and pink forms are interesting, but not nearly so striking as those with traditional lavender-purple flowers. Sometimes it pays to stick with the old favourites.
What lavender needs to do well is a spot in full – even scorching – sunshine and a soil that is reasonably well drained.
Cold, claggy clay soil will often bring about its demise in winter due to rotting.
In terms of keeping the plants happy, the thing to do is to clip them over after the flowers have been picked or, if you don’t intend to use them, after the flowers have faded.
Cut the stems back by a few inches, but not so far that the stems are bare of live foliage. Do this in late summer rather than waiting until autumn, and the plants will have time to produce new shoots that will make the bushes look much more presentable through the winter.
In harsh winters you may well lose a branch or two, or even an entire plant, so be ready to replace any casualties come April.
The plants don’t have terribly long lives. If you get three or four years out of them you will have done well, but they can be replaced relatively cheaply or propagated from semi-ripe shoot tip cuttings three or four inches long in midsummer. Root them in sandy compost in a small propagator with a little bottom heat and you will save pounds.
But for now, make sure you enjoy your plants every bit as much as the bees and the butterflies. The flowers are rich in nectar and, as such, play an important role in sustaining our ever-threatened bee population.