Lavender
16 'Munstead' Lavenders occupy one devoted, 64 sq.ft.
bed. This time I gave each plant more room to grow than
before. 2-foot spacing ensure the plants can reach their
mature 2' width before impacting each other. The bed was
lightly amended in Fall 2007, and then allowed to lay
fallow until August 2008. Here, the plants are freshly
planted and watered, and the bed is ready to receive a thin
organic mulch. Drip irrigation is there to back-up August's
and September's rains.
If they like conditions, English lavender cultivars like
'Munstead' can bolt. Given lean, alkaline soils, infrequent
but deep watering, and a light mulch, 2008's tiny 2" tall
plants had reached a ten- to twelve-inch height by the end
of October. The year's mild and drawn-out Fall suited the
plants well. Mature lavender plants require seasonal
manicuring and harvesting, so it is essential that the
gardener be able to access all sides of the plants. I
accomplish this by centering a large stepping stone in the
bed.
This photo captures June
2006's lavender bloom in front of a wind-tossed stand of
corn. At this point these lavender plants were over 4-years
old and becoming over-crowded in the bed. Lavender is
relatively pest-free. It resists ravenous grasshopper
swarms, and is entirely uninteresting to sucking insects,
caterpillars and rabbits. Burrowing rodents like gophers
and moles can undermine a lavender plantation, though, so
local field-plantings will require wire root-protectors to
succeed.