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Because our Georgia weather has been so crazy the past few years, I decided to start the spring lavender planting a little earlier than usual, hoping the plants will adapt before the summer inferno hits again this year.
Gardening in Georgia can be a little frustrating, we have heavy clay soil, while full of nutrients, it's dense and heavy, the exact opposite of what many plants prefer to grow in, including lavender. So, if you're going to plant lavender, you have to amend the soil. Since lavender likes a lean soil, I needed to find a way to lighten up the clay on my property. I decided to use worm castings and PermaTil to help break up the clay, increase drainage, attempting to keep it light and friable. Worm castings are a great soil additive and PermaTil is a great product that won't degrade with time because it's expanded slate.
So, on a beautiful spring-like day, I headed over to the nearest wholesale nursery and to the college that I work for and picked up some lavender to plant. It took me two days, but I managed to get all 98 plants into the ground. I find myself walking through the rows of my freshly planted lavender, talking to and touching them, hoping that they'll like their new homes and grow.
I'm up to 160 plants so far, and I think that's enough to get me started. I've got to prune and tend to them over the next few months so that they'll hopefully thrive for many years to come.