The lavender planters on the balconies of the Sainsbury Building are almost ready to be pruned but with the students due back at the college in the coming week, and the only access to the planters being through their rooms and kitchens, the pruning has had to be done before all the flowers have faded. (To see how these planters have matured since they were planted see blog entry 11th February '3 Planters, 69 Lavender Plants and A Tonne Of Gravel'.
Using secateurs Simon, Danny and Ali carefully removed the flower stalks and a few inches of this year's growth to create neat, compact plants.
After completing the first three planters and, having noticed the large number of bees that were still visiting the flowers, the gardeners had a crisis of conscience about taking away their source of nectar so decided to leave pruning the plants in the final planter until all the flowers have faded.
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| Left For The Bees, Lavender In Full Flower |
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| Bee Enjoying The Nectar |
What a shame to have to do them so early
ReplyDeleteI have twice noticed in different gardens this week the air being pervaded with scent from the remains of the flowers as well as the copious foliage.its the best time of the year
Hi Roger. It was a real shame to have to cut the lavender before they faded but due to the location of the planters and the poor access, through bedrooms, such a bad design by the architects, we had to do it before the students came back. We felt so awful for the bees hence the leaving of one! Regards Ali
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