Ground Breaking Banter - Rick
Lavender: it’s easy to love, but not always so easy to grow. We’re lucky, out here on the West Michigan lakeshore, our soils tend to be very sandy and well-drained, our winters relatively mild in terms of temperature, and we usually have snow cover when the lowest winter temperatures hit. These combine to give us excellent success growing lavender, but if you live inland, or have clay soil, or have cold winters with no snow cover, lavender can be tricky, with lots of loss over winter.
We share several tips and ideas for growing lavender in this episode, like planting it in spring so it has plenty of time to get established, and sticking with the more durable lavandins (a hybrid variety that’s larger and a bit hardier than other types), like the widely available Phenomenal lavender. Join us at the YouTube link above or on your favorite podcast platform to hear our whole conversation on plants you can move, and those you maybe shouldn’t unless necessary.
In my previous job as a gardening editor for a magazine (remember those?!), I was fortunate to travel all over the country looking for gardens to include in stories. One of my absolute favorites was an 1816 farmhouse in New Hampshire that included a small, traditional herb garden just off the kitchen. It was four square raised beds, edged in thick old wood, and surrounded by a flagstone patio with thyme and other plants growing in the cracks. What the very talented gardener has done was to place two lilac standards in the center of two of the beds to add just the right tough for formality and character – here’s a picture of it from Pinterest.
They were the perfect choice, for several reasons – one, they added much-needed height to the low growing herbs. Two, their tight, dense “canopy” ensured the gravitas of a tree without the shade. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, their spring bloom provided color and fragrance when the rest of the garden was just getting going. Not only does this provide much-needed interest, but it also means that the fragrance of the lilac won’t compete with the fragrances from the herb garden…like lavender.
As I face finally creating my own dream herb garden, which honestly was partly inspired by this one in New Hampshire, I may very well do the same, but I would choose today’s plant on trial, Bloomerang Dark Purple lilac as my plant. Of all of the Proven Winners lilacs, this is the one that is best suited to the purpose due to its size – 4-6’ tall by 4-6’ wide – its performance (superlative!), and since it has been on the market the longest of the series, it is the one you will be able to find the easiest as a tree form. Plus, unlike the old ‘Miss Kim’ lilac standards at that garden, Bloomerang lilacs rebloom, so you will continue to have waves of lilac flowers throughout the summer, as well as that substantial late spring bloom.
Bloomerang Dark Purple lilac is not your standard lilac, aka Syringa vulgaris. It’s a hybrid with much smaller foliage, a later bloom time, and a different fragrance, but excellent disease resistance and of course, the ability to rebloom. The flower color is darkest in bud, when the flowers open, they are more of a standard lilac color.
Another good reason to pair lilac with herbs is that they need the same growing conditions: full sun and very well-drained soil. Another bonus: both are very deer resistant, making this a great combination! Bloomerang Dark Purple lilac is hardy to USDA zone 3 and heat tolerant through USDA zone 7.
Tree-form shrubs like Bloomerang Dark Purple lilac do cost more than their shrubby counterparts, so if that puts them out of your budget, consider using the shrub form as a hedge or specimen for your herb garden.
If you’d like to add Bloomerang Dark Purple lilac or any of the 320+ Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs – to your garden or landscape, you’ll find a list of local retailers here.
Gardening Mail Bag - Stacey
We got a welcome report from Florida from listener Collin:
I wanted to share some winter cheer with you. Here in central FL this year we have a rare phenomenon. Two of the most distinct flowering trees – pink and yellow tabebuias (or ‘trumpet trees’) are in full bloom. Usually the pink ones bloom a month before the yellow ones but this year their bloom times completely coincided. They are Bignoniaceae plant family members and are outstanding trees for Florida. I hope these beautiful trees brighten up your winter gardening feed! I’ve also included a picture of my garden as well.
The weeping Alaskan cedar was struggling and lost some lower branches. It is doing better after some fertilization in recent years. Do you think the naked bottom will fill in? Or should I plant something in front of the cedar? Or rip it out and start over? Any and all suggestions are welcome, please - Don
Here’s the photo Don sent of the cedar:
(The plant in question is the evergreen between the two windows at right)
The key to resolving these issues is determining what caused them in the first place, and when I looked at this photo, I can see that the Alaskan cedar there is still staked. I would inspect all of the contact points associated with the staking and make sure they aren’t growing into the tree, as damage like that can definitely cut off the bottom and lead to a decline in health. If this is the case – or even if it isn’t – I’d remove all staking materials as the plant should be well established now.
I would say that it’s unlikely the plant will regrow too much at the base, simply because as the plant gets more mature, it begins to shade out its lower branches naturally, which is why pines, for example, typically develop a canopy instead of staying branched to the ground as they are when they are young. But I don’t think that’s cause for removing this beautiful plant, which I think is perfectly sited to use that space between those windows. One, the plant is already nicely established, two, it’s really the perfect pick for that spot, and three, it can still be gorgeous even if it’s a bit bare at the bottom. If you’d like to plant something to soften that effect a bit, you certainly can.
Do you have a question for us? We’re happy to help! E-mail us or use the contact tab above. Due to high volume, we may not get to your question, so if you need an answer quickly, please reach out via the Proven Winners website.
Branching News - Rick
In our final segment, we’re joined by herbalist and forager, Lisa Rose to talk about how she grows and uses lavender in culinary and wellness preparations. Join us at the YouTube link above, and learn more about Lisa on her website.
