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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2004)
BY RACHEL FOSTER CAMPUS AREA DELIVERY TAKE OUT ★ EAT HERE SERVING DELICIOUS NEW YORK PIZZA BY THE SLICE AND BY THE WHOLE PIZZA PIE 11:30AM-MIDNIGHT MON-SAT ★ 3:30PM-MIDNIGHT SUNDAY $ 2.00 OFF COUPONS GOOD UNTIL MAY 27, 2004 ANY 18” LARGE OR 16” MEDIUM PIZZA PLUS 2 FREE 20oz. SODAS 10¢ OFF PLUS A SLICE ® 1 FREE 12 OZ. SODA 1211 ALDER 686-9598 RACHEL FOSTER ON CAMPUS NEXT TO SACRED HEART HOSPITAL Lusty for Lavender Marvelous, hardy plants do well in the Northwest. A nyone with a sunny garden who is looking to reduce water use should be thinking lavender: not just one token plant, but lots of it. This fragrant mar- vel from lands around the Mediterranean needs little care, tolerates poor soil, and is more cold-hardy than that provenance might suggest. Rocky or sandy conditions may be ideal for lavender, but it is remarkably adapt- able to ordinary garden soils, even in soggy Northwest winters. Its only real requirement for a long life is decent drainage. At the Sawmill Ballroom Lavender Farm on Hamm Road, Joey and Nancy Connolly Blum claim to have heavy, clay soil: Planting on sloping ground provides the drainage the plants need. A thick mulch of sawdust con- serves moisture. “We used to make a big deal out of telling our customers we never water our plants,” said Joey when I visited last summer. “After this very dry year, we may have to say we seldom water our plants.” Established lavender doesn’t need irrigation to survive, he said, but the plants will look fuller with adequate moisture, and the quali- ty of the flowers improves. In small spaces, multiple lavender plants look great laid out in severely geometric designs. Alternatively, you can mix it with other drought tolerant plants for a more infor- mal effect. Lavender’s tolerance for dry soil makes it a good container plant for water- wise gardeners. The drought tolerance of plants in containers won’t equal that in the open garden, but waiting a few days for water shouldn’t hurt. (Potted lavender can go in a frost-free but unheated garage for the winter.) While any lavender variety can be grown in a pot, my personal favorite is Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas). The jaunty wings at the tip of every inflo- rescence add color and character, and there are several flushes of bloom throughout the summer. L. stoechas is not as hardy as other popular varieties, although many specimens have lived through several recent winters. A typical purple flowered variety is ‘Otto Quast.’ In ‘Leucantha’ the flowers and showy bracts are white with green veins. Joey and Nancy Blum grow and sell about 65 lavender varieties, both old and new. Their farm is a great place to compare flower and leaf color, plant size and bloom- ing time. Gray-leafed ‘Tuscan,’ their own introduction from a farm in Italy, is a vari- ety of English lavender (Lavandula angus- tifolia). Others are ‘Twickel Purple’ and a compact old favorite named ‘Munstead.’ Early blooming and hardy, it’s about one- third the size of most its neighbors at the farm. Nancy says, “It has a lovely, soft fra- grance without sharpness.” English lavender self-sows, but many popular lavenders are sterile hybrids. Crosses between Lavandula angustifolia and L. latifo- lia, they are grouped under the name L. x intermedia (books sometimes refer to them as lavandins). ‘Provence’ and the fat-flowered ‘Grosso’ belong in this group. The hybrids tend to bloom a bit later, and foliage color is variable, from green to gray. Lavandula lati- folia ‘Silver Frost’ has foliage of the brightest silver, standing out like a beacon in mixed beds at the Lavender Farm. If you are plant- ing lavender in masses, you can choose two or more foliage colors to make a pattern. In nature, old lavender grows irregular and leggy, with the thick, gnarled stems exposed. Most gardeners prefer the neat bun shape asso- ciated with young plants. Provided they get a full eight hours of sun a day, a regular annual clip after flowering can keep plants that way for years. It’s good for hedges, or anywhere plants need to be uniform. Nancy recommends clipping in July or August. Alternatively, you can shear the plants when growth begins in spring. Or you can prune individual branches for a more natural look, leaving about one quarter of last year’s growth. Healthy plants in ideal conditions can be cut back hard, even into old wood if you can see buds there, but this should be done only in spring. Nancy recommends doing it right around Mothers Day. “Some varieties push new growth right from the bottom,” she says. “By late spring, if you can see that new bun of leaves, cut back to it.” Here is another tip from Nancy: If you are not in production, don’t rush to harvest your lavender. Insects, bees in particular, just love it, and the plants are constantly in motion from dawn to dusk. Nancy suspects some bees sleep right in the plants! Bees continue to work the plants long after the strongest flush of blue is gone, and she’s learned that even the dried-out stalks are full of fragrant oil. She crushed a brown head in her fingers to show me the shiny black oval seed; even with the seed already ripe, the old flowers were still intensely fragrant. So you and the bees can enjoy your lavender for a long time and still cut fragrant stems. ew LO-CARB BAGELS FRESH BAKED 6 GRAMS NET CARBS PER SERVING Eugene 810 Willamette 341-1335 Springfield 5768 Main St. 868-1072 Sawmill Ballroom Lavender Farm (29251 Hamm Road, Eugene) is a blissful spot in the country to buy lavender or just visit. Open 11 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday, April to October. For details, call 686-9999, or go to www.sawmillballroom.com MAY 13, 2004 31
