Lavender, lavender, lavender

Crud - I really should have done this sooner. We are a lavender farm, after all, and it might be nice to write about lavender considering the season is upon us. Right now is a good time to plant in your garden - stick to the rule of planting anytime after Mother's Day in areas that experience frost.

There are more than 115 varieties of lavender and surely one suited for your garden, whether you've got a cottage garden, herb garden or drought tolerant garden. Lavender is beautiful in many settings. I recommend buying from a local, reputable nursery to insure the plants are hardy in your zone. If you order from a nursery that ships, just make sure the plants are suited for your zone (we should be taking orders this fall for plants to ship in the spring and will provide info on zone hardiness).

While lavender is adapted to many growing conditions, well draining soil is preferred (it doesn't like wet feet). Dig up your soil and add organic matter as needed. Mix a bit of bone meal with the dirt at the bottom of the hole and add your plant. Water regularly for the first growing season to get the roots established and then less frequently after that (we only irrigate during the really hot days of July and August to keep the plants form getting stressed). If you're putting lavender in a garden with other plants that need more frequent watering, try putting the lavender on an outer edge where it wont get quite as wet.

There are some basics you should know about varieties to assist you in picking the lavender that's right for you. Lavandula Angustiflioa is the English family of lavender. These plants tend to be smaller in size, 18-24" high in bloom, and have a sweet aroma. Typically, they bloom for mid-June to mid-July. Colors range from white and pink to the deep purple shade of the Buena Vista we grow. While each variety has it's own fragrance, English lavenders tend to have a sweet, clean lavender aroma and are the preferred lavenders for use in cooking. Yes, cooking with lavender - see our website for recipes and feel free to bother me for more. We'll be posting a lavender rhubarb crisp next week - I just made it for friends last week and it was delicious. A few varieties to look for are Munstead, Pot Pourri White and Jean Davis.

Lavandula X Intermedia is the French family of lavender. These plants generally get to be about 3' high, although some plants can get to be as big as 4' around. The spikes are longer and sturdier than English lavenders and are preferred for making lavender wands. Colors range from white and dusty blue to dark purple. French lavenders have a pleasant aroma with a bit more camphore than English. They bloom mid-July to early August and make up most of the lavender grown around the world. The oil production of these plants is the highest of all varieties, which accounts for all the lavender fields in France. Some varieties to look for are Grosso, Provence, Hidcote Giant and Dutch White.

Lavandula Stoechas is the Spanish Family of lavender. These are the varieties with the calyces or "butterfly wings" at the top of each bloom. Spanish varieties bloom from mid-May to mid-June, and if pruned after the first bloom, will have a second show in late August. These plants tend to spread out more than their French and English cousins and don't grow in compact mounds. They can be pruned quite hard to form a neat hedge. Beautiful in a garden and a great way to attract bees and butterflies, but Spanish lavenders aren't grown for production. Colors range from white to red and deep purple. Look for Morning Mist, Pippa Pink and Regal Splendour.

Some quick notes on pruning... if you are cutting your lavender to dry for later use, cut when the top third of the the flowers on the spike bloom. This will ensure the buds stay tight and dry on the stem without falling off. Cut the stems an inch above the woody part of the plant and keep the shape of the plant in a tight mound. If you'd rather enjoy the blooms in your garden, once they've begun to fade cut the plants back in the same way. Generally you won't need to cut them back again in the fall, but if new growth has formed by the time you're putting your garden to bed cut them back again.

Dog Days

It's all about dogs these days. Eloise, our cocker spaniel, recently had surgery on her knee (ACL problems and arthritis)... it's a three (!) month recovery period and we weren't looking forward to it, but had to be done. Tom built a handicap ramp for her out the door (no steps) and we made things a bit more comfortable for her around the house (dog beds in every room, rugs in the hall so she wouldn't slip on the wood floor). The first night was miserable - pain meds weren't working, she was crying, I was crying and exhausted. Fortunately, our vet is also a good friend and by midnight I was on the phone with him begging to up the medication. We doubled it. It only lasted 2 hours. By 5am, we doubled it again (apparently Eloise has a high tolerance for drugs). Finally we got the dose right and for the next few days, my schedule revolved around keeping her doped up. If I was going to run to town, I'd have to leave just after giving her the meds and be back within 3 hours for another round. We are into week 3 and she's doing better - moving a bit faster than she probably should, but no pain and she's taking the confined activity pretty well. I do have my doubts about how we'll keep her on restricted activity for three months - she's a busy girl and nicknamed "Helen" (hell on wheels), by our friend, Heather, who had the pleasure of chasing her around the grass seed fields behind us one afternoon - there are times when a walk in the hills is like herding cats.

Due to the surgery, both Eloise and Bogart missed Silverton's annual Pet Parade last weekend. This is by far my favorite event of the year! Kids of all ages, parade through town with their pets and farm animals... there's the usual mix of dogs you'd expect (many dressed in costume to match their humans), cats in carriers on wagons, chickens, rabbits, hamsters, horses, cows goats and I don't know what else. There are as many or more folks in the parade as are watching it (along with their dogs getting in on the action). Our first year, I walked in the parade with our vet and his pups... we were following a herd of goats and Bogart was thrilled when he got to sniff a goats behind!

Which leads me to our first dog event. Friend Kristine and I decided it would be fun to host a Spring Soiree for the dogs after the Parade... pups could roam the farm and get 10% off in the gift shop, plus a lavender dog biscuit. While we managed to get listed in the calendar of events for two area papers, our local rag dropped it (inadvertently I'm assured). We handed out flyers at the Parade and seemed to have good interest. The weather was better than expected, Kristine came up to help and Bogart wore his purple bandanna to celebrate (I planned to leave Eloise in the house). Five hours, 2 women to host, 14 visitors (including 1 reporter), and about a dozen dogs - it was a total flop! I will say, everyone that came had a grand time - the dogs got to play and socialize (so did the humans), Eloise got a turn at hosting her doggie friends, everyone enjoyed the lavender dog biscuits (including Tom) and I got to spend an afternoon hanging out with Kristine. After careful analysis, we concluded: we didn't market as well as we usually do, there were about 4 other events in town the same day, not everyone who owns a dog wants to take him to a beautiful farm to play, and we never have to do it again. That's one thing off my list for next year!

Everythings comin' up weeds & grass

The weather here is gorgeous and everything is sprouting, including the weeds. May is "mowing madness" as we try to keep the grass in check and the weeds at bay (I"m pretty sure they're growing an inch a day).

We use an old Snapper rider to mow the lawns and in between the rows of lavender. After spending way to much to have it tuned up and repaired this year, we've already given it a beating. Mowing between the lavender is not for the faint at heart - the ground is rough and it's a bumpy ride (sports bra recommended). Last week I managed to mow over a boulder that I'm sure came up out of the ground just as I drove over it and last night Tom ran over a cable that wrapped itself around the blade in a split second. Really, all you can do is laugh, fix the problem and keep going (and of course, enjoy a glass of wine when the day is done).

And, you've got to savor the season - the garden is beginning to bloom and the lavender field is perking up. Yesterday I made the enjoyable trek to Bauman Farms - a family run farm stand that is always a treat. This time of year, they are known for their hanging baskets... these baskets are huge and draping with flowers already. By summers end, 3 to 4 feet of flowers will be cascading from the pots. So time to hang the baskets and pull the weeds that are beginning to choke the flower beds... with any luck, I'll get a drip system rigged on the hanging baskets and pots this year to prevent the inevitable scorch those days I forget to water.