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The Impatient Gardener

Garden, Plants

A LAVENDER-LINED PATH DREAMED FULFILLED

May 31, 2017

The long path that now extends all the way to the garage was originally a short path that cut through an existing garden when we first bought our house. At the time, I’d never planted anything in the ground, only containers. I don’t even know where or when I first saw a lavender-lined path, but I knew I wanted one before I really knew how to garden.

nepeta along path
Although it was pretty for much of the summer, when the Nepeta was overgrown it got a bit wild. So I’d cut it back and for a couple weeks it looked like the photo below.

I think back then I thought we couldn’t grow lavender here (I can’t tell you why I thought this, but it’s not true), so I fashioned a lavender substitute: Nepeta. Nepeta has the same blue-gray foliage as lavender as well as blue-purple flowers. It also has scent that is released as you walk by, making it great for a path. But finding a low growing variety that wouldn’t eat the path was a challenge. Over the years I tried several varieties, said to stay compact. I managed their rangy behavior by cutting it back after flowers, three times most summers, but that meant there were a lot of times when it looked shabby either because it was too big or had just been cut back.

This photo taken from the second floor gives the best overview of the path. The Nepeta is on the bottom of the picture, closest to the patio. 

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, it was a tough winter in the garden (and, as I’ve found out, for many other gardeners on the area). I lost almost all the Nepeta growing along the path (it now lines both sides of about a third of the path closest to the house). There were a couple of survivors that I moved elsewhere, but everything else was well and truly dead. Since I had to replace those plants with something, it felt like the right time to take the plunge and make the path planting I’ve always wanted.

This is the part where we get to question my sanity, because it’s worth mentioning that in addition losing almost all of the Nepeta, I also lost five lavender plants. But hope springs eternal, particularly when it comes to gardening and hey, I’m willing to learn any lesson at least two or three times.

In the process of preparing the soil, I amended it with chicken grit, which is just small bits of gravel, at least where gardening is concerned, and I lined every planting hole with a handful of grit as well. This strategy worked pretty well in the past, so I’m hoping it will give the lavender the very sharp drainage it demands.

The plants are tiny right now, but with luck they’ll grow quickly and fill in nicely.

'Phenomenal' lavender

The immediate effect, other than being delightfully weed-free, which it certainly was not before, is underwhelming. These were not large plants. But in my experience they grow quickly, so with luck they’ll fill in nicely this summer. And from there, we’ll just see how it goes.

Because when you want a lavender-lined path, you have to have a lavender-lined path.

lavender nepeta path
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
9 Comments

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Comments

  1. Lisa Greenbow says: May 31, 2017 at 11:37 am

    Best of luck with your lavender. I too have had visions of lavender in the garden. I have yet to find a lavender that will grow here. Maybe I need to do that chicken grit thing. I will be curious to learn if your experiment is successful.

    Reply
    • Erin Schanen says: June 3, 2017 at 2:19 pm

      Me too! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Rachel says: May 31, 2017 at 9:21 pm

    My nepeta also died this winter — I honestly thought it was just me. I will be watching this lavender experiment as well!

    Reply
    • Erin Schanen says: June 3, 2017 at 2:19 pm

      It's odd, right?

      Reply
  3. LINDA from Each Little World says: June 1, 2017 at 2:25 am

    I've never tried lavender but I gave up on Nepeta a few years ago; more trouble than it is worth as you described.

    Reply
    • Erin Schanen says: June 3, 2017 at 2:20 pm

      I will be happy to dispense with the repeated cutting back and waiting for it to regrow, that's for sure. I still have lots of nepeta in the garden, just in places where it can flop without a problem and be hidden by other plants while it grows back after cutting.

      Reply
  4. Carolina C. says: March 16, 2018 at 3:56 pm

    Sooooo…what happened?

    Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: March 16, 2018 at 3:58 pm

      Good question! They grew AMAZINGLY well last year, but it’s still too soon to know how they fared over winter. Everything is still frozen solid here. I’ll report back as soon as I can though!

      Reply
  5. lily baker says: May 18, 2020 at 6:55 pm

    I find myself daunted and discouraged by gardeners and their perfect gardens. Sure, they are easy to admire, but impossible to dupe!

    Your site is the first site that makes me feel empowered. I love that you chronicle in photos and journal entries your failures and what you’ve learned! You still have a superhero’s garden, but I’m energized by you!!

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
I toured 12 gardens over the long weekend and I no I toured 12 gardens over the long weekend and I noticed that many have little mascots around bringing joy or peace or protecting the garden. Here are a few. 

Photos 1, 2 and 9 are from @jennyrosecarey amazing garden @northviewgarden 

Photos 3 and 4 are from @paxsonhillfarm 

Photos 5 and 6 from @edgewood_gardens 

Photo 7 from Michael Bowell and Simple’s Create a Scene garden

Photo 8 from Carol Verhake’s @lastingimagelandscapes amazing garden 

#gbfling2023
The koi at @chanticleergarden are a very friendly The koi at @chanticleergarden are a very friendly bunch. They are also very big, which is good news for them and bad news for the heron who was hanging out looking for a snack.

*I definitely didn’t get into the pond to film this. Action camera on a very long stick. 😀
We’ve reached the stage of my garden visits in t We’ve reached the stage of my garden visits in the Philadelphia area where the number of photos showing amazing bits and pieces has out measured my ability to post and label everything properly. So here’s a photo dump of some gorgeousness and you must tell me what you love most. Some of these are from @chanticleergarden and others are from private gardens. 

#gbfling2023
Scenes from the amazing @brandywinecottage What a Scenes from the amazing @brandywinecottage What a treat to visit a garden that I’ve studied in books and seen in many of David Culp’s talks. Beautiful even in a tropical storm (and perhaps even moreso). 

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