General Chat

Anyone got any tips for growing lavender in the UK? I want to put some into a container but reading various articles on Google I'm not sure how successful it might be.
Anyone else done this?

We find it easy to grow the ordinary lavender but we always manage to lose French lavender if we put it in pots. Our ordinary lavender is in the garden.

Thanks Amokavid, I read that they need about 8 hours a day sunlight so thought a container that I could move around would be best. If I plant straight into the garden they won't get that. Is it really so important?

They seem to grow easily here - chalky soil.
I have them on a bank and never water them - I never water anything, being a 'survive or die' gardener. (some would say lazy!!)

When I planted it, I kept it in a tub in the airing cupboard watered covered in cling film (the packet told me to!) until the shoots came through, then I think I moved it to the conservatory and when the clumps got big enough to handle I planted them out in the garden.

Unfortunately one of our gardener's team dug up my second lot (which I'd spaced out to create a mini border) but the first planting all went into the same space in the ground and flowered the second year. It's survived really well - this year will be its third summer with flowers because the type I've got doesn't flower the first year, but I will have to cut it back afterwards because, if you don't prune them, the green undergrowth goes woody and then by the following summer it's too tough to cut.

Having spent all my adult life in terraced housing with a "backyard" I now find myself in a house with large gardens. The front is surrounded by trees & high hedges so very little sunlight but we've just ordered table & chairs for back garden and I want to make it a nice place to sit out in the evenings.
However, also want it to be easy maintenance in terms of running the lawnmower over it so don't want to have lots of planted bits that would need edging by hand. (I'm also a lazy gardener) There's a concrete patio area and so I'm aiming to fill this with plants in containers as well as fixing hanging baskets to the concrete fence posts.
Trying to add colour and scent without huge effort!

PigletsPal, I didn't know that. I have a rosebush planted already so will bear that in mind.

Hi, I planted hundreds of lavender seeds last autumn and kept them in an unheated greenhouse through the winter. They are about 4 inches tall now and quite bushy. I have begun planting themout in the garden and so far they have done well, need quite a lot of water!