This is my front garden, a couple of metres square and planted by the previous owners. For a few weeks in July it looks like a pint-sized patch of Provence and is much remarked-upon. I love it.
Compared to this time last year, it has attracted very few bees – last year, dozens and dozens of them were buzzing all over it; this year, I’ve only spotted two or three at a time. I hope they’re simply getting a ready supply of nectar elsewhere, and it’s not a sign of bee decline.
At some point the lavender will have to go, as it’s getting a bit leggy in places. But I might just plant more – it’s incredibly wind tolerant (the wind howls up from the valley sometimes), and is neatly evergreen when it’s not in flower. It even manages to obscure my recycling crate.
Breathtakingly beautiful!
Thank you Margaret!
Your lavender is beautiful! If you want to keep it, you could just prune it back in spring to reduce the legginess (just google “how to prune or rejuvenate lavender”). As far as your bees, perhaps the winter was simply hard on them (I know we had a very hard winter here in the US). I just read this article in the WSJ about bee losses yesterday, and was reassured that they might be OK, except for the Varroa mite threat: http://online.wsj.com/articles/henry-i-miller-why-the-buzz-about-a-bee-pocalypse-is-a-honey-trap-1406071612 Thanks for the post about your beautiful lavender! -Beth
Hi Beth
Thanks for getting in touch! I have been pruning the lavender but I think it’s suffering from a lack of pruning in the past / advanced age – hence the legginess! In fact, I’ve got to do it very soon, when it has completely finished flowering : ) Interesting article about the bees.
You could do something really nice with that!