Yorkshire Lavender is set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside and there's usually some beautiful views but there was a haze hanging about on Friday so we didn't get the full effect.
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I have to say that the gardens at this time of year are rather bland, bed upon bed of lavender plants which aren't in flower, but the gardeners were working very hard to get everything ready for the season.
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I think the sensory garden could be made more of, plants which flower at different times of the year could be used to give year round interest, whereas the bed hasn't got going at all yet. Can you see the music above the bed?
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I did a bit of sight reading and figured out that the music written here is Lavender's Blue Dilly Dilly. I never noticed that before. Very apt.
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The maze is looking rather sad at the moment, it needs a bit of height which the lavender flowers give. You can see it in all it's glory in my previous post about Yorkshire Lavender.
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Most of the beds are covered with ground cover membrane to keep the weeds down, the lavender is planted through this. I expect this will cut down the work required to keep the beds looking good.
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I like all the little tips which are dotted about the garden.
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I think the nursery has improved since we were last here.
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I was disappointed with the price of the plants last time but there's definitely some more reasonable purchases available now with a good range of herbs amonst other things.
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I found the lavender plants to be rather expensive though, especially as cuttings are so easy to take if you've already got lavender and you just want to increase your stock. A tiny little plant which looked like a cutting was about £2 and plants just a little larger started around £4.
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Dogs aren't allowed in the gardens so Archie had to wait in the car park. He was pleased that I didn't take too long looking round.
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I'm sure that this will be my last visit to Yorkshire Lavender, I think I've seen all I want to see now. If you fancy going yourself, I'd recommend waiting until the lavender is in flower as there really isn't all that much to see at this time of year.
I have visited Norfolk Lavender a few years back now but not Yorkshire Lavender, I found the cost of Lavender plants like you in there nursery expensive, I bought a pallet of 72 mature Lavender plants just after we moved here from an online company for what it would have cost me for 10 from Norfolk Lavender :-)
ReplyDeleteThere's quite a few of these lavender places dotted about, I know there's another one in Yorkshire called Wolds Way Lavender, I'd quite like to go there to see the difference between the two. I suppose lavender plants are more expensive here because it's what they're specialising in and perhaps you can get varieties which would be harder to source elsewhere, I don't know. It sounds like you got a good deal with your 72 plants though.
DeleteI always find tips around a garden centre can be so helpful, and I agree lavender in bloom is glorious to see.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I found some of the tips really helpful and they try to make them quite humorous too. I think visiting Yorkshire Lavender when the plants are blooming is a much better idea than going at the moment when they're not.
DeleteI took a peek at your August post and there is quite the difference between then and now. When it comes to visiting gardens, it really does pay to time your visits based on what you want to see.
ReplyDeleteWe have the Royal Botanical Gardens near us and I have gone several times in the past couple of years, but my timing has usually been off. I always ended up going too early or at the tail end of a certain display such as roses or tulips, etc. I'll have to work on that.
It's true, it makes sense to look at what a garden has to offer and time your visit according to when it will be at its best. I'm enjoying going back to the gardens I visited last year, but paying them a visit at a different time of year this time to see how they change. Unfortunately, because Yorkshire Lavender is niche, it's never going to be a year round garden as people expect to visit and see lavender at its best.
DeleteI think good gardeners like yourself Jo can appreciate plants and gardens at any season. I sometimes think anticipation of what is to come is just as exciting as the main event!
ReplyDeleteI think that's certainly the case with some gardens. Take Harlow Carr, I'm anticipating the tulip displays on my next visit, and perhaps the one after that, but I think somewhere like Yorkshire Lavender is somewhat lacking when the main event is yet to come, especially when they don't make the most of other areas of the garden. In my opinion the borders should be at their peak out of lavender season so that there's always some kind of wow factor in the gardens. They could make early flowering borders as well as late flowering ones as the lavender steals the show anyway when they're flowering.
DeleteAn interesting contrast to your last visit. It's clearly a place where you need to pick the right time of year. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteIt definitely is. I think a garden which has a starring feature, such as lavender, has an optimum time for visits. Outside this period, you may still enjoy your time there but it doesn't have the same effect.
DeleteWe've passed this and seen ads for it but never visited - clever you to sight read as that would have been lost on me.
ReplyDeleteIt took me three visits to realise what the music was, I thought it was a rather clever idea.
DeleteThanks for the post, I cut back my lavender a couple years ago, it was very woody, it has come back lovely, and should flower well this year.
ReplyDeleteI've never had much look with lavender, mine tend to go woody but never recover. I'm going to give it another go this year though, I shall buy a new plant and hope that I can look after it a bit better than I have done in the past.
DeleteIt is a shame that the plants are so expensive as I am sure that people would like to buy one having visited but high prices do put people off - me included! Wonderful fragrance in the summer I imagine. xx
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that there's lots of different varieties available to choose from but you do pay for the choice. It was a very heady scent when we visited last summer, a little too strong for my liking.
DeleteI suppose that it's probably not the best time to visit a lavender farm Jo but at least you were en route elsewhere. We went to Provence in September a couple of years ago - too late for the lavender! Archie looks rather forlorn waiting for you there. I wonder what he was thinking :)
ReplyDeleteThe best time to visit is definitely when the lavender is blooming but I suppose it's worth dropping in if you're passing just for the nursery, it seemed to be stocked better than it was last year. Archie doesn't like us to be out of sight so I should imagine he'll have been crying when he couldn't see me.
DeleteAwwww...poor Archie!
ReplyDeleteI did like seeing all those rows of lavender despite them not being in flower, and the tip had me sighing....didn't cut mine back hard enough!
The music is a great idea! I'm glad you pointed that out....gosh....the lavender plants are a little pricey for sure!xxx
The row upon row of lavender is a sight to behold, though there's definitely more of an impact when it's in flower. It's taken me three visits to realise what the music is, I bet most people don't put two and two together.
DeleteWise thoughts, Jo. We visited Norfolk Lavender once, in the height of Summer, and it was amazing, but as you say, these places are not geared-up for year-round visual effect.
ReplyDeleteI suppose they concentrate on the lavender with the other mixed borders being given less attention. Visitors will be coming mainly to see the lavender but it's a shame not to give them other things to see when the lavender isn't blooming.
DeleteI remember when you went there last year. I suppose a place dedicated to one plant is good as you can see and buy more varieties than in a regular garden centre. We have taken cuttings from the big bush of English lavender that's been flourishing in our garden. I was interested to see that the two different French lavenders that I bought last year have died back and don't look so good at the moment and I'm hoping that they will perk up and produce new shoots soon.
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely a great choice of lavenders available to purchase but you do seem to pay through the nose for them. I'm going to buy yet another plant this year, lavender is something which never seems to do very well for me but I'm willing to give it another go.
DeleteNow I can't get 'Lavender Blue, Dilly, Dilly,' out of my head, Jo. I was going to try growing lavender from seed this year, but left it too late. Maybe I'll try next gardening season. P. x
ReplyDeleteHa ha, it was a bit like that for me on Friday after I'd worked out what the music was. I'm going to buy a plant this year and try taking cuttings from it to increase the number of plants, lavender seems quite easy to propagate from.
DeleteIt must have been very quiet Jo.....hardly any people or bees (no blooms)....
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting for me to see the area without flowers....it is amazing how different things look...............
Lavender is expensive. I take cuttings now as it is so easy. Also do that with my Rosemary........
There were a few visitors, of the human kind, but not as many as we encountered last time we visited when the lavender was blooming. It's a good idea to take cuttings, especially from plants which root so easily.
DeleteIt looks like they could do a bit more with this place to make it more appealing. Well done on your sight reading!
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful place for lavender lovers but I think they could make more of other areas out of lavender season. It's hard for borders to compete with the lavender when it's blooming so why not use them out of lavender blooming season and make them spring borders so that there's always something for visitors to admire.
DeleteI like to visit nurseries and gardens out of season, because we live with plants all year round and it's good to see them at their worst. Lavender clipped well looks good. The photo with the blue gate at the centre shows how structural lavender can be, so although it might have been a bit dull as a garden visit, it was an excellent way to see lavender at its worst (which in my humble opinion, isn't bad at all). I visited Peter Beales roses in November - that was interesting as there were still a surprising number of blooms showing.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean. I like to see the structure of a garden too, however, if you don't live in the vicinity and you're only going to visit a garden once, you really want to see it at its best, especially something like lavender. Roses did so well last year, many hung on in to winter so I'm not surprised you saw lots of blooms in November.
DeleteI have never been to a Lavender farm, they always look amazing in the photos. I bet the smell is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I found the scent a little overpowering when we visited last year, but I suppose that's to be expected when there's so many plants concentrated in one area. It's definitely worth a visit if you haven't been before, but I'd recommend waiting until the lavender is in flower.
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