Photogenic & Aromatic Lavender

On the morning of Saturday 4th May, in a stiff breeze, we dismantled lavender shed.

In May this year, I said goodbye to Lavender Shed. Since then, we haven’t made much progress in erecting its replacement, Ryan’s new workshop. Now that the weather is cooling down we will pick up that project again, but it means that it will almost certainly be next year before we can remove Seagrass Shed and erect my greenhouse/shed hybrid.

Lavender and lilac are two popular flowering plants that are often compared for their beauty, fragrance and uses. While they share some similarities, there are also several key differences between them that make each unique. Let’s have a look at Lavender vs Lilac!

‘Marriage is like life in this…. That it is a field of battle And not a bed of Roses’

Lavender will not sprout willingly from old wood. So when pruning make certain some green wood remains. Lavenders bloom on the stems that grew that year. Pruning is designed to encourage more flowering branches and give plants a longer life.

Honeysuckle Belgica

Here are the Best Planters with Lavender Ideas that will help you showcase this gorgeous plant in all its glory. From classic patio planters pots to creative tea cups, we’ve got you covered!

Lavender fields are impressive, not just because of how incredible they look, but because of the feeling of calm and peace they create that is so hard to find elsewhere. That relaxing property is just one of the many reasons why we love to grow this plant at home, but lavender is also wonderful when used ornamentally. Couple this with its soothing effect and charming aroma, and you start to scratch the surface of its many, many uses.

September 22nd I was honored to be a judge at the seventh Bloomsbury Jam-Off in historic Camden, SC held at the Bloomsbury Inn. I was accompanied by two judges, and we worked gingerly to narrow the twenty-one entries down to our top five choices, paying attention to color, texture and taste. We then led into discussion by tallying up our scores and determining our top three winners. With over twenty tasty and creative samples to try it was quite challenging to find the best three over-all. There was also an award for the most unique entry.

As I’ve transitioned my garden into a more age-friendly space, I am always on the search for interesting perennials to add to my planting beds. Gone are the days of planting large swaths of annuals each season. These days, I grow annuals in containers for easier maintenance and relief for my aching back and knees. Plus, I can move them around for a pop of seasonal color.

Confession: Despite all my years at “Martha Stewart Living,” Gayla is far more adventurous in making things than I am. We both cook, and can, like mad—but she goes further. After purchasing a small copper still, Gayla spent her summer making hydrosols (floral waters—such as rose water), and just bought a set of wood-carving tools to try her hand at spoons and other implements. Impressive.And she can sew—to make the oversized muslin packets for herbed bath “tea” bags, for instance. (My last attempt, in junior high school sewing class, resulted in the project becoming stitched to the lap of my dress.  The bell rang before I realized what I’d done, so I had to wear it, like a lopsided fabric collage, to my next class. Nice.)GAYLA’S RELATIONSHIP to the garden so intimate that every bit of it seems to make its way into the rest of her life, and into the lives of lucky friends who are recipients of her many giftable goodies, such as:Bundles of twiggy herbs fr

Also on the agenda today, a tip on a bulb you may not have grown before, but could order to plant this fall, surprise lilies. Above: giant knapweed (Centaurea macrocephala) and rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) in her dry garden.Jenny Rose Carey is former senior director of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Meadowbrook Farm and taught in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture at Temple University, where she also directed the Ambler Arboretum.Plus: Enter to win her new book, “The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide”