by Ethel Smith

Created on: March 03, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

Most of us think of Lavender as an old ladies and old fashioned perfume. With this in mind, you would probably be surprised to learn that it still appears in masses of modern perfumes, toiletries and cleaning products. It is still a useful and lovely plant which is very easy to grow. It is also very decorative.

Having had to venture into the garden this week to assess the storm damage to our fence and garden I thought I'd have a general tidy round. Looking at the now huge lavender plant that I have in the back garden, trying to put a few thoughts about this seemingly hardy plant into a review, seemed a good idea.

I am quite lucky in that I have always seemed to have green fingers and very little attention to my plants has gone a long way. In all our gardens, over the years, we have always had a lavender plant or two. Our other house, which only had a yard, had one in a pot which grew for many years. Eventually the ever increasing size of pots for re-potting got rather out of hand.

Where we live now I have a postage stamp size front garden and a slightly larger back garden. There is a lavender in both the front and the back garden of a similar type. The one in the front however has much deeper purple flowers and a headier scent when it is in flower. As it's next to a buddleia it is always covered in butterflies, during the summer months.

The front one is in a flower bed at the side of the path and has now grown so large that I think we will have to either move it or hard prune it this year. I may try some cuttings but, as the plants get older, they do become a bit woody, so this isn't quite so easy.

One thing I have learnt over the years is that if you prune into the old wood at the bottom of your Lavender plant you will more than likely kill it. What I often do is, while the flowers are still in full swing, cut some long lengths which I then put in a vase in the house as a dried flower arrangement. I find that they last absolutely ages. Eventually they will drop a bit but in the meantime you will have the lavender scent flowing through your house and the bonus is they look great.

As the flowers outside gradually fade I either leave the plant or prune over the top. You can use some of the clippings for little scented bags for your clothing and drawers. The plants always come blooming back without much care. The problem is they do become a bit large and unruly. The average height a plant will get to is three feet and mine are a good couple of feet across as well. I

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