Sensory - Sunday, June 30, 2013 15:50 - 1 Comment

Lavender For All Your Senses

Article by Tricia Christopher, Landscape Architect and Designer of the Mediterranean and Sensory Gardens

Lavenders are featured prominently in the Sensory Garden, with their own “Lavender Hill” in the center of the garden. Here, drifts of several lavender varieties in beautiful shades of blues, purples and whites provide distinctive herbal fragrance.

Lavender is known for it’s ability to reduce stress and induce relaxation, and this effect is apparent when strolling through the Sensory Garden this time of year. Combined with the hum of bees and trickle of water from the nearby fountain bowl, the wafting lavender scents calm and refresh. 

Lavenders prefer sunny, dry conditions, and require good drainage. Amending the soil and planting on a mound will help with drainage issues. They also look much better with an annual heavy pruning after flowering. Lavenders may develop dead branches after a few years, and it is usually best to replace rather than attempt to “save” them. Continue…