The lavender has been chopped- bring in the alpines.

The garden area under our lounge bay window was a mess. We asked the decorator to paint the windows, but he decided that after over 150 years, the windows themselves needed replacing. That's now been done, but the lavenders have been trampled, and in any case they had got very leggy and woody. This border needed serious attention.

We chopped the lavenders right down, leaving a bare area right where guests come in- not a good first impression. Bring on the alpines! John Innes number 2, a bag of grit, a selection of plants and off we went.

White Moss House, Grasmere, Bay window, lavenders cut down, ready for alpines

You can just see a few stalks of lavender- otherwise it's bare. Not a good look.

Here are the alpines ready for planting.

I've got 1 aubrieta, 2 saxifraga, 1 scabiosa, 2 phlox,2 dianthus and 1 sedum . I usually give pinks ( dianthus) a miss, as they get eaten by mice, or something ( who knows which of my garden enemies gets them?) Watch this space to see how they grow on in the next few weeks.

If you would like alpines delivered to your door, you can buy them here from Amazon. I actually like to pick out the plants myself, but I find that transporting compost, and especially grit, which is very heavy, is something I can do without. You can buy compost and grit online- an easy option. Grit and compost are so heavy that you might like to order online here from Amazon.co.uk

The lavender is struggling

At this time of year the lavender should be looking and smelling fantastic, but with the wet weather we've been having, only some of the varieties have flowered. Others are trying their best, but the rain is spoiling the flowers. I'm not sure if I'll get a dry enough spell to pick the lavender flowers for drying this year. I love lavender, and I've written a whole article which you can see here all about How to grow and use Lavender Take a look for some beautiful pictures of lavender too.Here's one of the beautiful pictures of lavender as it should be.!

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I love lavender , but unless the rain stops and the sun comes out soon, I'll be without any dreed lavender for 2012.