Working with what you got: Lavender upkeep

Since our weed population control program has several fronts, I’m trying to stay focused on the task at hand and not get distracted by what else could be added to our yard.  The bulb are so tempting at this time of year, but so far I’ve had enough willpower to resist…  For now, the plan is to work with what we got. 

Like the lovely lavender plant near our front steps, or at least it was lovely over the summer. Last week it was looking so scraggly and beat down after all the rain that it occurred to me that caring for a lavender plant likely takes more than walking past it on the way to and from the front door and trampling it’s lovely blooms. 
 
My first thought was it probably needed a little pruning.  Good thing, I decided to do a little research first because it turns out that pruning lavender in the fall is an easy way to shorten its life span according to  Sunset’s ‘Your Guide to planting, caring, and harvesting lavender’.  It turns out that lavender plants need their foliage to protect themselves from harsh winter weather.

So instead, I set about trimming away the blooms and their stems. I’ll save pruning for the spring.

Lavender (before)

Fallen lavender blooms

Lavender (after)