Lavender–a study in blue

While I was watering the plants this morning I was struck by how pretty the lavender was, so I decided to do a photo study of them. It’s been an interesting but frustrating few months trying to figure out what they like- too much water and they are just a green fragrant bush; too little and they put out little teeny tiny little flowers, then dry up and turn brown a second later. This is what they looked like when I first brought them home last summer:

So big and beautiful! I couldn’t resist them- so much so that I went back the next week and bought another one! Hehe, those nursery people sure have my number. Make it big and bushy and bloom profusely! She won’t be able to resist it! Then the heat really came blasting through and it was too hot to do anything but sprinkle them with water and wonder why they weren't putting out any more new blooms:
This was in October, when the days and nights felt like the dead of summer, not the beginning of Fall. The flowers were struggling with my watering and feeding learning curve- I knew they had to be watered on a daily basis, and I was checking the soil moisture levels (bone dry an hour after they were watered in the morning most weeks. ugh.) But I hadn’t figured out how much to water them yet, and I almost killed the Camellia when I gave her some tomato fertilizer after the rose had responded well to it as well. Ahem. That was a huge no-no folks. Plus, I have since figured out that my tap water is waay too salty for her and started filtering it. All my plants have responded nicely to this.

In January- you can tell from this photo that things are getting better. The growth is green again- well, that silvery blue colour that I just love about lavender plants, and that their flowers are starting to come back in nicely. A few more weeks to get the watering schedule right, and a nice feeding with their new favorite fertilizer and. . .

Voila! It’s working! I now know that both my lavenders like a thorough watering- in the morning after the sun has come up, but about every two days, giving them time to drink it all up and for the soil to dry out a bit before their next drink. The girls have been rewarding me with a lush profusion of not-too-small flowers-

Any day now I’ll be able to harvest some of them for drying and maybe even some baking! I have found recipes for lavender-lemonade, shortbread cookies and even lavender meringues! Tasha and I love to go out in the morning and bury our faces in them:

Just to take in their glorious scent!

And they are just soo pretty! I am so very pleased that I was able to make them happy here at our new place- and I can’t wait till the garden shops put out their new summer stock so that I can-um, look- at all the possibilities for next summer. Yeah, that’s it- just looking honey. How many plants can a girl find room for, anyway?
Twenty-two pots and counting. . .