Tips for Growing Lavender

1. Sunny and dry growing spot in your garden. All day sunlight is best.
2. Loose and well-drained soil; mounded; mulch and amend with pea gravel
3. Do not overwater.
4. Pruning in early Autumn; at least by one-third (I know ... But it will grow happier.)

• Look for Provence.

Country Gardens

Wild Coropsis

I was able to do some clearing and weeding, as well as get down some more mulch this morning. My son began to clear the overgrowth of groundcover and weeds from a long-neglected space in my garden. Thanks so very much, T!

My plans remain to plant native grasses, salvias and hardy herbs in these areas once they are cleared. I dropped my DH off at the airport last week and plan to return for some garden photo-journaling tomorrow evening when I pick him up.

Their main event is Russian Sage and Pampas Grass, which make an excellent combination! And, both are hardy! I am going for hardy plantings. I plan to maintain some high-maintenance plantings as well but for eye-appeal, I am going with perennials and hardy!

Living in the country, I enjoy a natural-looking garden and "wild-scaping" ... Often times by mid-summer my gardens tend to very "natural" looking! ;-) However, I have come to embrace being a country gardener and simply enjoy digging in the Oklahoma dirt!

Gardens are a form of autobiography ...

Gardens are a form of autobiography. ~Sydney Eddison

This quote has stayed with me ... And, as I have worked, enjoyed and pondered in my gardens these past couple of weeks it has become very applicable to my gardens.

Because of new life goals — and diversifying my schedule to include time regarding said goals — I was not as active in my gardens during my regular February-April prep time. Suddenly I remembered why that time is so important in gardendom. ;-)

It is the prep time that prepares the way for the plantings that bring June color. Thus, said plantings are well established in cleared gardens by this time of summer. (Instead of withering when the temps are above average.)

I had some wonderful time in my gardens today; clearing and decluttering miscellaneous areas and planting some annual color amongst my perennials. I also went for "pop" by moving around some of my garden decorations: terra cotta bunnies, shepherd's hooks, chimes, etc.

• Discovered some resident frogs and baby turtles and spotted some perennials I thought I had lost over the winter.
  
• Watered the grass in hopes of a thicker coverage this hotter-than-usual summer.
• Realized that color spots are what draw me to gardens; and said color can capture the eye and maintain interest away from weeds and bare spots (aka works-in-progress).
• Decided to go with pink as a main color this year. Love pink!