Lavender

I love lavender. Who doesn't? I particularly like the new cultivars that have the cute little topknot of bracts that flutter in the breeze. I took this photo yesterday (when the sun was out because at the moment it is pouring - yay!) and it shows a cultivar of Lavandula pedunculata called 'Lavender Lace'. It is one of PGA's introductions and it has grown very well in my garden - even surviving a move a couple of years ago! This cultivar is a very early flowering lavender - a species we normally think flowers in late spring/early summer. It grows about 70cm X 70cm and is a splash of colour in my garden at the moment. I also grow another early flowering lavender called 'Pukehoe' which originated in New Zealand. It isn't flowering yet but I think thats because I gave it a late autumn haircut and it is still struggling to catch up. Pukehou is a bigger cultivar getting to 1m X 1m. I have found that if you shear the flowers off as soon as they have finished you will get another (smaller) display in late summer. Shearing them each year keeps the bushes compact and encourages lots of new growth which in turn produces lots of flowers. PGA also grow the smaller (60cm) 'Ruffles' range that were bred in Australia. There is Boysenberry Ruffles, Sugarberry, Blueberry, Mulberry and Peachberry - sounds like a gelati selection doesn't it?! I have grown a couple of these and they too are very cute with a ruffled topknot of bracts.
All lavenders appreciate a sharp well drained soil and are very drought tolerant when established. I did try to take a photo of the bees on the flowers but they wouldn't stay still long enough or present their best side to the camera! I don't think you really want to see the bee's backside do you?