Some tips from our garden designer:
Welcome to a new segment on the Floral and Hardy site, each week we will be bringing you a new job for you in the garden (we know you want more to do…). These tips will be coming straight from our lead garden designer, Helen Ellison, she will also be taking requests, so if you have any questions don’t hesitate to drop us a request via twitter.
Pruning Lavender
Lavender is an invaluable addition to any garden, whether modern or traditional, both for its scent and colour, as well as the food it provides for bees and other insects.
In order to keep it healthy, it should be cut back quite hard every year in late summer to early autumn, before there’s any chance of frost, to encourage new growth and to keep it from becoming leggy and bare at the base.
You will need:
(Clean and sharp) secateurs
Method:
Cut back all the flower stems first and then cut the rest of this year’s growth back by at least 2.5cms, making sure that some of the green shoots are left on. Don’t cut back into old wood as it won’t re-sprout. If your plants have already got leggy and have a lot of bare wood at the bottom, it’s probably best just to replace them, but if yours are young plants, there is reason why, with careful pruning you can’t keep them for years!
