Summer lavenders

Time for a photo round up of the latest lavenders.  The wonderful French lavenders (lavandula stoechas) have done their marvellous work and are now fading.

Just to refresh your memory, here is an example of them one month ago .

I’ve been very diligent and cut them back. Well, I have climbed my way around the steep slope of the barn garden and those I have managed to reach have been cut back.  They are an unattractive shrub when the flowers are over. A bit sticky to the touch and not the lush growth of the more popular lavandula intermedias.  In fact mine always seem to be half dying.  And every year I wince at the sight of them.

But come spring they flower like mad and live another year.

The bulk of my lavenders are the lavandula x intermedia ‘grosso’. And as the name implies, they are big beasts.

These are the ones on my lovely lavender bank in front of the house.  I’d nip out and take a shot of them, but really they only photograph well at dawn or dusk.  That is the beauty of them here in a country setting. They don’t scream out.  Some of the bluer ones are lavandula x intermedia nizza which I bought from the Filippi nursery. Once again, I’m cheating. Here’s one I made earlier. A few days and early starts earlier.

Pause there. I just made the mistake of going onto my favourite plant nursery’s website to check the spelling.

And ages and ages later I’m back. Good thing I Do Not Need Any More Plants. I could murder some more of those fabulous plants.  If you need to check where I’ve been, have a look http://www.jardin-sec.com.

I do have one of the white lavenders – Lavandula x intermedia ‘Alba’, but it never sparkles in the glaring sunlight of the south east of France in June and July. I do have a shot of it in my review of the barn garden. It works brilliantly with my favourite shrub – the balotta (Ballota pseudodictamnus if you must).

It is best seen also at dawn or dusk. I think I took this shot around 9pm.

But I also have a few that never fail to life the spirits as you swan past.  These are the absurdly blue Lavender Hidcotes (lavandula x intermedia hidcote).

I planted these along the edge of the narrow scrawny lilac bed in the east garden.  The asters and sedums behind pushed them a bit out of shape.

I must take some cuttings. Am I too late? Yes, I should have done them in spring. I actually brought these plants from a plant stall in a market in the north of England .

It was when I was visiting my ailing mother in law in hospital at Hexham in Northumberland.

So they always remind me of her. And of the glorious north of England, where I bet they glow in the dark.

Even here in the searing heat they are electric blue.

Now all I need to do is remember to get up earlier tomorrow and do a dawn(ish) harvest.