Lavender Advice

[Jungle Jane]

One choice is osteospermum,mines green all year,always looks good,here’s photos of summer & winter,need deadheading for continual flowers.

[peanut]

One choice is osteospermum,mines green all year,always looks good,here’s photos of summer & winter,need deadheading for continual flowers.

They look beautiful and I think could work! Thank you!

[peanut]

A patch of cardoons, artichokes or other thistle that appeals to bees. A bit prickly for dogs, interesting foliage, lovely flowers, just the kind of thing a cottage garden would contain. Would catch rubbish, though, if such a thing exists in your village.

No, no rubbish, strictly dog poo only.

[peanut]

^^^^ they need educating!

Absolutely, everyone has neatly manicured weed free lawns, to the front at least, not a single buttercup, daisy or god forbid a dandelion dare raise it's pretty head.
I often feel like sneaking out under the cover of darkness with wildflower seeds and sprinkle them everywhere like fairy dust.

[Babru]

Jungle Jane's osteospermum suggestion is an excellent one. There are a number of low growing evergreens you could also plant, that would give colour over a long season. Things like aubretia (spring, comes in purples, pinks and blues), cerastium (snow-in-summer, white flowers, silver foliage, very tough), erigeron glaucous, flowers all summer, pink or blue daisies. Also, lots of the succulents are mat-forming like sedum and stonecrops, often yellow flowers and interesting foliage colours.

All of these are fast growing and will keep their leaves year round. A trim annually with a pair of scissors or shears will keep them tidy.

NB these types of plants take very readily from cuttings so you can bulk them up fast.

[Martin H]

NB these types of plants take very readily from cuttings so you can bulk them up fast.

I've heard others say it's easy, but I've tried several times to take Osteospermum cuttings and they have always failed. They start putting on new top growth before dying off, on inspection they haven't made any roots.

Do you have any tips to help me? I'd like to try one more time when they start growing again (even though the plant labels forbid it).

[Jungle Jane]

I was reading about taking cuttings & it said use a seed compost with little or no nutrient in,to encourage root growth rather than top growth. I don’t know if that helps at all,I’ve never taken cuttings,the established plants seem to have shallow roots though.

[Babru]

I have a Snow Pixie osteospermum. I've found that as it spreads out there are shoots with little roots forming in the clump. I've potted them up separately and made new plants.

Same goes for the erigeron. Sedum, you just dig a clump up and it's a new plant.

I've never managed to get an aubretia to root, but I did buy a pack of mixed colour seeds. I'm just interested to see how easy it is to grow.

[Babru]

I was thinking about peanut's problem again...how about a hebe hedge? Some very nice ones 3x3 feet, but there are bigger or smaller if you like. Evergreen, lovely flowers that last for months, bees like them too. Very good value plants, and I've seen them for sale pretty cheap.

[peanut]

I was thinking about peanut's problem again...how about a hebe hedge? Some very nice ones 3x3 feet, but there are bigger or smaller if you like. Evergreen, lovely flowers that last for months, bees like them too. Very good value plants, and I've seen them for sale pretty cheap.

How funny you should say that! Only today I was reconsidering my options and I've been considering Hebes for those very reasons you mention, long lasting and loved by Bees! I've seen some very pretty pink and mauve flowered varieties!

Great minds Babru!