For many years my family rented a summer cottage on a tidal river off Buzzard’s Bay owned by a woman who was obsessed with lavender. The cottage was filled with lavender bouquets, sachets, soaps, posters, lavender-themed dishware.
Outside, the yard was edged with a lavender border, and there was a whole separate garden devoted entirely to many varieties of the revered plant, all carefully labeled. My young sons thought the lavender thing went a bit too far. But I couldn’t get enough of it.
The most common lavenders fall into two groups: the English lavenders, which are cultivars of Lavandula angustifolia, and lavandins, a hybrid of English lavender and Lavandula latifolia.
Lavender is a joy in the garden. Its silvery, sometimes gray-green foliage stands out boldly against the more common greens in perennial beds. Its flowers are modest but lovely, and the scent is to die for. Both flowers and leaves give off a wonderful piney herbal smell. No surprise that its essence has been used for centuries to relax and calm the nerves.
Lavender has many things to recommend it. Although it’s non-native — it comes from the Mediterranean region — it is non-invasive and non-aggressive. Its pungent aroma puts off deer and other critters, but bees and butterflies adore it.
Lavender is not difficult to grow, but it’s important to choose varieties that are hardy enough to survive New England winters. Two English lavenders, ‘Munstead’ and ‘Hidcote’ are lovely varieties that do well in New England. Munstead has a low-growing habit and its hardiness. Hidcote is compact and bushy and grows about a foot tall.
It’s also important to have the right growing conditions. Above all, lavender doesn’t tolerate anything less than full sun. It also doesn’t like humid weather, which makes it a tough choice for southern gardens. Lavender likes well-drained, alkaline soil (aim for a pH of 6.4 to 8.2) and once it’s established, it can handle drought.
One I hope to try this year is ‘Phenomenal,’ a recent introduction that has proved one of the hardiest lavenders around. It is said to withstand severe winter temperatures as well humidity. It’s a later bloomer — expect flowers in July and August — and grows about 2½ feet wide and tall.
Care is fairly simple. Lavender may be considered a subshrub rather than a herbaceous perennial because new growth comes on old stems. This means that you must not prune it before new growth breaks. Lavender can look dead as a doornail in early spring but leave it alone and don’t despair. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way!
Once lavender has finished blooming, deadheading will encourage a second bloom period. This is a good time to shape the plants, which tend to sprawl. Lavender needs to be cut back to 8 inches or so every 2 or 3 years to maintain its vigorous, compact growth. Don’t prune plants late in the season because they need time to harden off before winter.
“Lavender is not for the risk-averse,” as one Connecticut gardener put it. But it’s so worth the effort. If you have a sunny spot, try a few different kinds and see which ones work best.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston is hosting an African violet show Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be hundreds of blooming, specimen African Violet plants in a variety of displays. There will be guided tours as well as talks on African violet care and culture, including re-potting and propagation demonstrations. Many unusual African violets and Gesneriads will be available for sale, as well as pots, soils, fertilizers and more. Entry is free with admission. Go to www.towerhillbg.org for more information, including the schedule of tours and talks.
There’s so much we can learn from professionals who work at major botanical gardens. On April 30 from 11 a.m. until noon at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Jody Payne, director and curator at the New York Botanical Garden, will give a lecture titled “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” about building and running the rock and native plant gardens at NYBG.
Payne not only works with plants, she builds collections, oversees design and installation, and works with gardeners, volunteers and students. She will talk about her experiences “doing it all.”
The event is sponsored by the New England Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society. It is free with admission, but pre-registration is required. For more information, go to: www.towerhillbg.org.
Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge is hosting a talk and demonstration of mushroom growing on April 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. You can explore the fascinating realm of growing your own mushrooms with Willie Crosby of Fungi Ally, a mushroom cultivation and education business based in Amherst.
Crosby will explain the life cycle of mushrooms and the important ecological role that fungi fill, and then focus on several methods of cultivation.
He will demonstrate how mushrooms are grown on various types of wood — shiitakes on logs, oysters on totems, and winecap mushrooms on wood chips.
Participants will leave with the tools and knowledge to start cultivating mushrooms at home and will be given an inoculated mushroom log.
Crosby has been studying and growing fungi for the past four years. Currently, he grows about 200 pounds of shiitake and oyster mushrooms a week. He has taught over 50 workshops in Massachusetts and surrounding states on mushroom cultivation.
The cost is $55 (all materials included).
For more information and to register, go to Berkshirebotanical.org
Mickey Rathbun can be reached at foxglover8@gmail.com.