Make Room For Lavender!

Burlap lavender cone made by me!

The harvest is in, the crafting has begun and there is never a dull moment here, outside as well, even as one of the nicest weather-wise summers, at least that I can remember in the last several years, is drawing to a close with dusky sunsets noticeably earlier. We are now fully ensconced in September and, there is still plenty to be done beyond the usual 'early fall tidy up' as we add to our ever-growing and expanding collection of lavenders. Yes.  That is what I said--ever expanding here with new lavender varieties to become acquainted with before the marigolds bolt, the mums fully bloom and Jack Frost decides to dust the pumpkins.

P. Lorenz, always in his element.

Even with the dry season upon us, we are planning and planting more lavender beds, reorganizing existing lavender beds and imagining the possibilities for next year.  It was a beautiful summer with just enough rain giving flowers, plants and trees, including drought tolerant lavender, the chance to thrive.   And so, with that in mind, we have added several new varieties of lavenders with names as colorful as they are when in bloom, like Lav. x int. 'Jaubert' and L. ang. 'Elizabeth' and one we can hardly wait to see in bloom next year called Lav. x int. 'Phenomenal'.  

Coming along in the greenhouse.

We have also propagated and planted more of our favorites in many of the lavender beds hopefully creating even more visual impact as we find certain varieties to be standouts in their field--excuse the pun! These past  few weeks have been something of a clever game with lavenders being moved around the field in the manner of a game of chess.  However, instead of knights, rooks, kings and queens being strategically placed, the likes of  'Thumbelina Leighs', 'Lady Grays', 'Blue Rivers' and 'Gros Bleus' have been rearranged for some stunning combinations next year. 

The prodigal son keeps reminding me that he did not go to college for this and I keep reminding him that his father, a landscape architect, did!...SNAP!

Baby lavenders planted out among established plants. 

Digging, tilling, weeding and almost continual watering, since this month is proving to be a very dry one here at Blooming Hill, have been the 'NORM' around here--forget calling any of it a priority. Yes, even lavender likes regular watering, especially when young cuttings are put into the ground, although you do walk a fine line between just enough and too much moisture in order to get a young lavender plant established.  So, young plants get a lot of judicious attention. 

The border garden in full bloom this summer.

Lavender preserves, Blooming Hill style!

In any case, there is still plenty of room here at Blooming Hill for more lavenders so, our collection will continue to grow and flourish because when you are a collector of something as lovely as lavender, you can never have enough.