Lilac

What could have happened to this lovely bee friendly fragrant member of the mint family?

The woody sub-shrub lavender plants in my garden have succumbed. There doesn’t seem to be any life in the rigid stems.

They had always been so happy in they’re sunny open spaced, well drained drought tolerant garden.

I had been a diligent gardener, harvesting the fragrant blossom stems of this woody perennial in July, pruning to just above the new shoots and then tidying it up again in late August. I was careful not to cut into the old wood for fear of killing this dependable plant.

I had chosen ‘Munstead Lavender,’ Lavendula agustafolia, an English lavender which is hardier than tempting French Lavender varieties which are less likely to survive winter in our northwest gardens.

Upon further research I learned lavender, a plant of Mediterranean origin, does not live forever in our part of the world. Gardeners in our ‘Neck of the Woods’ can expect to enjoy the merits of lavender for about three to five years. I have enjoyed the antics of bees and butterflies as they sipped nectar from the blossoms of my lavender hedge for seven years so what am I complaining about?

I dug around the lifeless plants. I didn’t find evidence of rodent or insect disturbance and the roots were still intact yet the stems were split and brittle. One of the plants in the hedge showed signs of new growth at ground level so I pruned it to the new growth and left that one in the garden.

Winter’s wrath had inflicted its untimely cold then unseasonably warm temperatures and had disrupted the growth cycle of the lavender.

A garden is always in a state of evolution and mine is of no exception. Though I don’t anticipate a repeat of last winter’s drastic effect on many species of plants, I am replacing my lavender hedge with other drought tolerant plants.

I placed a few large rocks to hold the heat and provide resting spots for pollinators. With the remaining lavender plant I incorporated a Russian sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia, Coronation Gold yarrow, some ornamental oregano, mother of thyme ground cover and creeping perennial sliver artemisia. I tucked an Elijah blue fescue grass near the rocks and transplanted an apricot iris. The garden needed a little movement so I planted tall pink and white cosmos and guara with it’s dancing white flowers.This summer my new garden will be young, but next year there will be more excitement than ever.

— Marge Swenson is a Washington State University Master Gardener. To contact a master gardener, call 509-477-2181.