Gardening in the Aude

Sad Lavender in a Sad Garden

Not only are my dogs and cats annoyed that I was away all summer, my garden is also upset.  Sad, in fact.  I'd describe myself as a Darwinian gardener.  My garden has to survive with minimal care and anything that doesn't make it is out. 

I don't water my lawn in the summer - obviously not a true Canadian, I don't even try and get rid of little flowers growing in it.  I do water my garden but only once a week.  Containers get watered more often.  They're not really part of the Darwin approach.

I had made arrangements for someone to take care of the garden and containers while I was away but somehow it didn't happen.  It's been a very dry summer and I came back to a very sad looking garden.

And a bit funny.  There was more grass in the flower bed than there was on the lawn! 

The lavender hadn't been cut but had obviously bloomed copiously.  It was all lying down and looking not at all lavenderish.  If you want to do anything with the lavender, make sachets for instance, it has to be cut when it's blooming.  There's probably an ideal moment but I don't know what that is. I do know that if you don't want it to get leggy you have to cut the flowers when they've finished blooming.  If you leave them for the winter the bottom part of the plant gets bare and looks  dead.

Yesterday was misty and drizzling.  This morning was cloudy but no rain.  I could smell the lavender when I went outside.  It was strong enough to win the war of scents competing against the smell of fermenting grapes.  It's the vendange.

I cut the lavender and put it in a wide basket and hung it in the atelier to dry.  When I have a minute I'll tie it in bunches rather than leaving it flat in the basket.  I don't know if I can do anything with it but it will make the house smell lovely if I dry it inside.

for anyone interested in learning about gardening in the Aude, or looking for plants that do well here, La Petite Pepiniere de Caunes is the place to start.