Pest battle with Lavender — and how I won

I had a serious problem with dieback from harsh winters on marginally hardy varieties on my Lavender earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational.

Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate multi-season interest from flowers, berries, bark, and autumn colour, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a formal clipped topiary or box hedge and improved my attention to watering in dry spells in the first two seasons after planting. winter bark and evergreen foliage interest was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.