• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

garden geeks: advice on / experience with lavender

littlebeast

littlebeast

i feel… motivated
Joined
Jan 26, 2008
Location
CA historical landmark #399
Moto(s)
the red witch + the green goblin
Name
hey you
we are pulling out a boxwood hedge and replacing it with a row of lavender. we have many individual lavender plants of various kinds in other parts of the garden, but are not sure what to plant to make a nice provence type hedgerow. am looking for something with deep color that doesn’t get too huge (there is a space constraint with the sprinkler system). i spoke with half moon bay nursery and they recommended lavendula x intermedia grosso - but from what i’ve read this gets huge. anyone have experience with lavender and can make a recommendation?

why? looking to attract bees and butterflies.
 
My wife insists that it makes tasty ice cream, our contemporaries agree.

I just think it tastes like soap.
 
TylerW said:
My wife insists that it makes tasty ice cream, our contemporaries agree.

I just think it tastes like soap.
Click to expand...

funny you should mention this - the absolute best ice cream i have ever had was on victoria peak in hong kong - lavender mango. it was one of the most heavenly things i have ever tasted.
 
most lavender requires aggressive pruning to keep it from taking over the garden. I have been diligent yet pruning back creates a devastated look at times.

Have fun!

(Melissa Lavender is gorgeous but not blue!)
 
TylerW said:
My wife insists that it makes tasty ice cream, our contemporaries agree.

I just think it tastes like soap.
Click to expand...

Good friends wife make lavender cookies tastes like soap to me. Yuck.

Melissa said:
most lavender requires aggressive pruning to keep it from taking over the garden. I have been diligent yet pruning back creates a devastated look at times.

Have fun!

(Melissa Lavender is gorgeous but not blue!)
Click to expand...

They will get huge. :wow Must be cut back. Ours got so big the wife started over with new ones.

Lavender Hollow by Escalon CA. Lots of information and nice visit when in bloom.

How much they can be trimmed.
1493138802508
 
Melissa said:
most lavender requires aggressive pruning to keep it from taking over the garden. I have been diligent yet pruning back creates a devastated look at times.

Have fun!

(Melissa Lavender is gorgeous but not blue!)
Click to expand...

This. Make sure you have a lot of room or are willing to cut them back a few times a year. If you cut them back, they start to look bad after a few years. I pulled all mine because I didn't have the room and it wasn't worth the work to prune them. The Costco near me usually sells them cheap in the spring.
 
TylerW said:
My wife insists that it makes tasty ice cream, our contemporaries agree.

I just think it tastes like soap.
Click to expand...

littlebeast said:
funny you should mention this - the absolute best ice cream i have ever had was on victoria peak in hong kong - lavender mango. it was one of the most heavenly things i have ever tasted.
Click to expand...

I whole heartedly recommend the Trader Joes Herbies de Provence with a touch of Lavender, I use it when roasting chicken.

https://www.amazon.com/Trader-Herbes-Provence-Attached-Spoon/dp/B01LY39JST

(In the store it's only $4.99)
 
I love everything lavender.
I planted English, French, and Spanish in my garden for my honeybees.
I redid my garden (front yard) last year. Planted all blue/purple flowers and left the CA Poppies to fill in.
I have a huge Mexican Sage that the bees & humming birds love.
 
Melissa said:
most lavender requires aggressive pruning to keep it from taking over the garden. I have been diligent yet pruning back creates a devastated look at times.

Have fun!

(Melissa Lavender is gorgeous but not blue!)
Click to expand...

Totally this. I've had lavender in the garden for many years. It's a spectacular bloom, really pretty.

The downside is that it fucking takes over everything. It's almost as bad as creeping fig.

One year I tried to kill it. Two years later it was back in all the glory. Now when the bloom is over, I pull 90% of the plants. If you don't regularly prune/pull, you will have an infestation.
 
littlebeast said:
funny you should mention this - the absolute best ice cream i have ever had was on victoria peak in hong kong - lavender mango. it was one of the most heavenly things i have ever tasted.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the off-topic question. Do you remember the ice cream shop's name? I will add it to my HK eatery list.
 
m_asim said:
Sorry for the off-topic question. Do you remember the ice cream shop's name? I will add it to my HK eatery list.
Click to expand...

no worries. i can’t remember for sure, but i think it might have been haagen dazs. IIRC the entrance to the shop was in the open air courtyard area (it was definitely not inside where all of the souvenir shops are).
 
littlebeast said:
no worries. i can’t remember for sure, but i think it might have been haagen dazs. IIRC the entrance to the shop was in the open air courtyard area (it was definitely not inside where all of the souvenir shops are).
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top