Lavender time

Lavender, loved by gardeners and wildlife alike. It is just about all going over in Derbyshire now to avoid it getting leggy and untidy it is time for action. It is disputed among many gardening books when is the correct time to tackle a lavender, but I have had no mishaps tackling my lavenders in August.

Once the flowers are over it is time to grab the secateurs and chop. But where and how….

If you cut back into the hard wood it can be disastrous, which leaves lots of people to scared to start. But be observant before you start. Where is the plant shooting from..

If you can find some new shoots growing from inside the plant even if they are quite far down the woody stems it will grow from here. You can be drastic.

If there aren’t any signs of growth just cut back to the last set of leaves you can get too. This will leave you with a neat and tidy looking plant.

Then you have a lovely pile of flower heads to dry and use for a whole host of things form making pillows or wardrobes smell lovely to dried flower wreaths or adding to cakes or soap.

Found this critter while pruning one lavender this week. It looks to me like a scarlet shield bug, Eurydema dominulus but they are supposed to be very rare and only found in a little bit of Kent and Sussex. It is no threat to the Lavender anyway so I will leave him be.

Have courage with your secateurs. Happy Days in the Garden x