Get the scent of the Med
Sow French lavender for colour and scent, says Ruth
RENCH lavender is one of my favourite summer plants, for its elegance, variety of shades and glorious evocative scent.
It is not as hardy as our native varieties, so if your garden tends towards the chilly or waterlogged or has an exposed aspect, you may be best off growing your plants in pots so they can be moved to shelter in winter. They will still thrive in warm, free-draining soil in a sunny site, though they may require mulching or cloching or, as they grow, covering with fleece during very cold spells during the winter.
Also known as Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas has larger flowers than English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and comes into bloom earlier, sometimes even in May. The leaves are an elegant silvery green and the flower heads are larger and tufted with large bracts and come in a range of colours, from deep purple through to gentle lilac.
Sow onto fresh seed compost that has been tamped down and dampened. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of compost or vermiculite, add a lid and germinate somewhere light and warm.
Pot on your seedlings into 3in (8cm) containers when they have developed their first sets of ‘proper’ leaves. Grow them on and gradually accustom them to outside temperatures before planting them out in their final positions.
You can do this in autumn, as long as you are prepared to protect your young plants through winter, or wait until late spring next year when you can harden them off and move them out when the last frosts have finished. was graced by a visit from kingfishers.
Although they are found throughout most of the UK, the exception being the Scottish Highlands and much of northern England, kingfisher numbers are decreasing. The cause is thought to be degradation of rivers due to pollution and loss of nesting sites.
Their prey is small fish (sticklebacks and minnows), and aquatic insects, shrimps and tadpoles. Kingfishers spot their prey while perching on an overhanging bough and dive into the water like a bright javelin, catching their meal and returning to their roost where they strike their quarry on their perch to kill it.
Ruth Hayes