Pretty as a picture and fragrant as well
Plant lavender for perfume and the bees
Lavenders need full sun and good drainage to grow well. In clay or wet soils, grow them on mounds. Water well at the time of planting and until they are established. Mature plants are drought tolerant, but regular moisture ensures minimal stress during the heat of summer. Strong winds desiccate plants, so frequent watering is necessary in windy spots. Do bear in mind, however, that lavenders hate standing inwater.
Lavandula x intermedia types are more prone to pests and diseases in high humidity areas. Space plants far enough apart to ensure good airflow and excellent drainage.
Cut lavender back by about one-third after flowering to help your plants look full and lush. If not pruned, they tend to become woody and leggy. Take soft or semi-hardwood cuttings now if you want to extend your plantings or replace old plants.
Lavender can be grown in containers, but after a couple of years the larger varieties are best in the ground, or repotted into much larger containers, as the root structure grows extensively. Use a free-draining potting mix with a controlled-release fertiliser and water regularly. Repot each year into a larger pot.
Plug the gaps
Summer crops are still cropping. But no matter how warm it feels where you are, they’ll all be over soon! As you pull out your tomatoes, peppers, beans and eggplants, fill any gaps with carrots, beetroot and radishes, which can all be sown direct now.
Swedes and turnips can too if you live somewhere that offers a cold enough winter to sweeten them up. Otherwise, plant spinach or silverbeet seedlings. Transplant brassica seedlings but white butterflies are still on the wing, so cover seedlings with amesh barrier or their rapacious caterpillars will chew them to shreds.
Fill any other gaps with green crops
A Canterbury study a few years ago found that green crops need to be sown as early as possible to maximise their effect on the soil.
The type you use depends on what you’ve been growing and what you plan to grow. Mustard is a brassica, for example, so don’t use it as a green crop in a bed where you plan to grow cabbages and broccoli.
Green crops keep down weeds, add organic matter to the soil, help retain water and can also be used to ‘‘sterilise’’ your soil to a degree if you’ve had a problem with a soil-dwelling pathogen – mustard and daikon radishes have a natural biofumigant effect (although be aware they’ll kill any good guys in the soil too).
Daikon are a good choice if you want to break up compacted soil. These giant radishes can grow to 50cm or more – leave them in the ground to rot so the holes they have drilled will be left behind.