The Lavender Allee

I am afraid that my Lavender Allee has been completely neglected this year. I never got around to doing the early Spring weeding and we haven't cut back any of the meadow grass around the plants. Despite all of this, the plants are in full bloom and are doing really well.

The plants are in peak bloom right now which is about 3 weeks later than normal.

The best news is they are chock full of bees. As I knelt down to take these pictures, I could hear a constant buzzing coming from all of the plants. It looked like most of the bees were honey bees, perhaps from a neighbors hives.

There were also a smaller amount of my favorites, the bumble bees. Next year I have to find the time to replace dead plants, weed, and keep the grass down. The lavender is so pretty at a time of year where many other plants are winding down and provides so much important food to the pollinators. Plus it smells divine!

The Lavender Allee

Mid-July in my part of Oregon means Lavender time. Within the last week the lavender has gotten its color and the blooms are opening up. I can't tell you exactly what variety I have pictured. Right after we bought this property I started to plant a long lavender allee up the side of a spur road. I purchased 5 plants the first year and then added many more the next 2 years. The problem became apparent as they matured and bloomed. While all 3 year's plants were labeled "Hidcote" I ended up with 3 very different varieties of lavender. I do believe that the first year's plants were a true "Hidcote". Unfortunately, I lost them all this past Winter with our  unusually long, hard freeze. The lavender that I had planted in year 2 all survived. They are a dwarf variety, with beautiful dark, deep purple blooms.

I was pleased to see many honey bees working the blooms but was upset that I could only find one bumble bee.

Just as I was about to put my camera away, I spied this little guy!