This is the week I set aside to prune the lavender. This usually occurs around the Red Sox Opening Day at Fenway Park, always a reminder for James and I to get certain garden chores done.
Right now, as I am out pruning in a New England heat wave, the path looks rather shabby!
But with work and time, along with some help of sun and rain.... miracles can happen!
I took this photo last summer when the lavender was particularly adorned in blue flowers and I am hoping that this summer the lavender path will compete and have the same allure of color and fragrance.
Back to work!
Beth and James, you'll have to share your pruning tips with me some time. I have the worst luck with lavender. What variety do you find works best for our NH climate?
ReplyDeleteJoe,
ReplyDeleteIn our garden we have lavendula Munstead, and Hidcote. So far they have survived 8 New England winters, with the help of being covered by balsam boughs in December. The lavender gets pruned every other spring.
Now, can you tell us what is the best boxwood to use here..we would like to keep it in a tight low hedge around an herb garden?
Thanks for the tips, Beth and James! I'm ready to give Lavender another go. Regarding the boxwoods, the quintessential boxwood for lining herb gardens and designing knot gardens is Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa' (true dwarf). It stays very tight and low with pruning, however in our NH climate it needs wrapping with burlap during the winters. This is easy to do and we have had 'suffruticosas' surviving many winters here using this method. A totally winter-hardy variety that doesn't need wrapping is Buxus microphylla 'Winter Gem.' It's a great boxwood for NH, however it doesn't take as tight a pruning as Suffruticosa and over time it can eventually grow to 3'x3'. Most of the other winter hardy varieties like Green Mountain, Green Velvet and Green Gem get even larger. Hope that helps.
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