Small Space Gardening
Growing lavenders in containers; whether it be pots on the patio or a container placed in your garden or on the balcony… the choice is yours.
Innovative Ways To Garden in Small Spaces
With the size of many blocks in Australia getting smaller, those of us who love gardening are looking for innovative ways to still have a garden in a small space.
And for apartment dwellers, having pots of lavender with their beautiful perfume placed strategically on your balcony; can be both a visual delight and have a calming effect after a busy day at work.
Tips for Growing Lavenders in Containers
My love of lavenders got me thinking about the scope for a display of my favourites in containers.
Here are some tips for growing lavenders in containers:
- Choosing the right size pot for the lavender of choice is essential
- Terracotta pots stay cooler than plastic pots, but the choice is yours
- Lavenders love free draining soil, so make sure you have good drainage at the base of your chosen container so your lavender thrives
- Lavenders are easy-care plants once they are established so ensure you have them positioned in the right place and move as required as they thrive in a sunny spot
- Some lavender species are tender and may not survive in very cold weather. Therefore they may need to be moved during winter to protect the plant.
- When establishing your lavender plant make sure they are given adequate water and fertiliser to ensure the best results for your plant
- Do not allow your container to dry out or your plant will suffer and not survive
- Do not overwater or the roots will rot and your plant die
- Use a good organic fertiliser to start your plants growth and replenish annually
- Choose the right lavender species for your container as some lavenders do better in a garden as they grow too large for pots. They will need too much attention especially if you have limited space on your patio
- Pruning your lavender plants in pots; you need to follow the same rules as for those in your garden (see my lavender gardening tips article)
Choosing the Right Lavender
There are plenty of good gardening books to help you choose the right lavender species for your situation. Have fun choosing and choose well. I hope the hints above have been helpful.
Plenty of Scope
The lovely lavender has so much scope, whether you are planning on making them a feature as containers on your balcony or as pots on the patio. Whatever your choice for growing lavender in containers; happy gardening.
Related Articles
Tips on Growing Lavenders
Lavenders Blue, Pink and White
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{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
What a beautiful photo! Thanks for the detailed, informative content. Anyone with an interest or passion for this wonderful plant with so many uses would do well to subscribe to this blog!
Thanks Mike for your generous comments. I have had some encouraging comments and I love writing about this amazing aromatic herb.
Regards
Patricia Perth Australia
Thanks for commenting on my blog…..it’s always good to hear from other lavender aficionados. Years ago I had a herb farm and lavender figured pretty prominently in the products I made. I love it!! Now it is vying for top spot in my garden with basil, my other herbal passion. Climate wise, we have the two extremes…cold in the winter and hot in the summer and so far the lavender has survived nicely.
Good to hear from you – Corinne from Kamloops BC Canada
Great to have you comment on my blog Corinne. Meeting such nice people in the blogosphere
Basil is another of my favourites too…..delicious in Italian recipes. Lavender is a survivor eh??!! When I lived in the UK it did get very cold in the winter, yet my tender white lavender survived well and of course the lovely English lavender did great too.
Regards from sunny Perth Australia
Patricia
Hi Patricia thank so much for visiting our brand new website recently. I love the look of your blog and will add it to my links as well.
You asked about products- yes we do supply wholesale so if you can send me an email address I can send to you.
Kind regards
Wendy Maddocks-Jennings
http://www.doctorwendy .net
Thanks Wendy for your kind comments. Will get in touch as I am very keen to only promote top quality products on my site.
Regards rom sunny Perth.
Patricia Perth Australia
That’s perfect for those who want to have a small garden but don’t have the space. One part of my garden is set aside for my herbs, so I plant it directly into the soil. We have about an acre of garden.
Various herbs, like lavender are planted strategically throughout the vegetable garden, since it discourages some of the destructive insects.
I’ve seen some amazing rooftop and community based gardens when I’ve traveled to the city.
Wow an acre. How good is that??!! Suburban blocks are getting smaller here. No reason for it only councils make more out of land rates. Plenty of space here in Western Australia and I am glad I grew up on a blog that had a vegie patch fruit trees and plenty of lawn to play on.
Lavender is a good companion planter in a vegie patch and I mention this in one of my other posts.
Great to see you over here again.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Patricia,
That’s interesting, Is it something that you have to pay yearly?
I’ve been on a blog break so really haven’t posted or commented on too many blogs. Happy I’ve discovered yours though. I fell in love with lavender as a child, read so much about it over the years, so nice to find someone that is knowledgeable about the subject.
Thankyou for your kind words. I still have heaps to learn and am enjoyinhg the journey; especially when others are joining me.
That’s right, land rates and other rates so if you can cram more buildings on the one block then more money for the local council.
Even tonight on the news they were trying to justify their long term plans for more urban density housing!
Western Australia has heaps of space so don’t think they will convince too many of us.
Patricia Perth Australia
Yep, I’ve noticed the blocks getting smaller and I reckon it’s partly due to the cost and partly due to people having less time to look after gardens. Growing lavender in pots is a brilliant idea.
I suppose a good potting mix would be cool, and that one should put some small rocks at the bottom to help with the drainage.
That’s right Sire a good potting mix but don’t overwater. Water well to establish and then sparingly once established. The advantage of container gardening is that you can move the pot so that your lavender can take advantage of the sunshine.
Great news that SA getting rain. For us here in the west we have had one of the driest winters on record.
Patricia Perth Australia
The lavender looks so pretty displayed in the pots. I wonder if the lavender would survive Canadian climate. Sorry, I’m not much of a plant person.
Thanks Rose. My niece does my graphics on her Mac. I have no idea about all that stuff but I did tutor her in some of her school subjects so she knows how to research for her course now. There are 39 species to choose from and some are very hardy. If you ever do want to grow the lovely lavender just say and I’ll research the ones that are suitable for your climate. They are so easy to grow here as we have a Mediterranean climate.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Patricia
I have been wanting to regrow Lavender for years but my past experiences of killing the Lavender have stopped me. It is only in reading this that I realised I probably over watered the plants in my zealousness!!!!!
Is it the right season to grow Lavender now?????
Hi Megan
Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and leave a comment. If you can tell me where you live, I can tell you the best time for planting. Lavenders love warm climates and free draining soil. They only like lots of water when they are young plants and getting established. You are right; you probably treated your lavenders too well.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Patricia
The more I read your blog the more I fall in love with lavender.
I am thinking about growing my own little ‘patch.’
BTW I am trying the lavender oil and steam treatment for my sinusitis and I have to confess it seems to be working…much better than the eucalyptus anyway.
Thanks for sharing.
Michael.
P.s Have subscribed
As always great to see you over here. So happy to hear you are joining the lavender lovers group. There’s plenty of us as I am finding out by the visitors to my blog.
Great that you are finding some relief for your sinusitis. Lavender uses are amazing.
I will be going to a wholesalers’ fair on Saturday to source my organic lavender products. So many people asking after them so felt I had to be proactive and get going with some product reviews.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi again – I’m in Cairns. I have seen some very healthy rounds of lavender around – particularly in the hinterlands west of Cairns.
Lavender is my very favourite and I so want to have big healthy pots of it around the place.
Hi again Megan
Usually growing lavenders in humid tropical climates can be a challenge as they are more suited to Mediterranean climate like we have here in Perth.
That said, some lavender lovers are determined to grow them and when I researched I found that the one recommended for your climate is lavandula dentata. The English lavenders are not suited to your climate so if you can source the one I have mentioned at a garden centre that sells lavenders you may be able to have success with it. Keep me posted.
Patricia Perth Australia
Fantastic. Thanks for that. I think I will order it in if I cannot get it here already: lavandula dentata coming up.
Glad to be of help Megan. Keep me posted and if you have any other questions, please drop by my blog and ask.
Patricia Perth Australia
All this information is so helpful. I grow my own vegetables, prepare them, and lose weight for my efforts. I am also well liked by my neighbors because I share.
thanks for visiting my site. Great that you are growing your own vegies and that you embrace a healthy lifestyle.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Patricia,
You know I never thought to grow lavender in the garden or a container either one. I do have some lavender Dr. Bronner’s soap and I see they have many more organic lavender products.
I like to add the lavender soap to laundry, especially sheets, so they smell like lavender. I really need to find the time to read more of your posts. If you believe lavender is important enough to make it the focus of an entire blog it must have more health benefits or uses than I know about.
I’ve been seeing your comments in posts about the new GrowMap anti-spambot plugin. So far I’ve heard from one person who had difficulty getting the check box to show even though he was logged out (you have to log out of your blog to see it) and no problems other than that. No conflicts with other plugins and no problems installing it.
It is the only plugin I actually update myself in my blogs. If you need assistance installing it let me know and I can get you assistance.
Hi Gail
Lovely to see you back on my site and thanks for taking the time to comment. I am such a technophobe that just the thought of doing anything vaguely techie sends me into panic mode lol
I had a bad experience when I was setting up my blog. Had been given instructions with plugins to upload but several of the plugins that were uploaded must have had bugs. Locked me out of my blog and took my host provider a week to sort!!! Although it had nothing to do with me but was the faulty plugins, just put me off doing anything else as need access to my blog 24/7!
Have seen my spam increase as my traffic has gone up and sometimes I’m getting genuine posts in my spam folder! So I know eventually I will need to get this GASP plugin for my blog too. Keep seeing it on more and more blogs which is a reminder that I haven’t done it yet. Thanks for the offer of help. May need it when I do come to upload it.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi again Gail
I did it
Yay I’ve now got GASP set up and it was so easy. Thanks for taking the time to encourage me and I’m so glad you did.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia,
I love the photo, did you take it? Your passion for lavender astounds me, it’s great. I have emailed this post to my mother who is an avid gardener. Not sure why I didn’t get the green thumb. Regardless this is everything she needs to grow lavender in pots. Thank you so much!
Hi Lynda
Thanks for your kind words about my lavender blog. I got my love for lavender from my grandmother. She always had some growing and loved lavender products.
She suffered with dermatitis and it must have brought her some relief as well as smelling sweet
My niece who is doing graphic design at university did all my photos till recently. A couple of my blogging buddies have come to the rescue with a couple of the more recent posts.
And thankfully I have now found a site where I can source some really beautiful photographs for future posts. I do think the graphics are important to add to my posts too.
Thanks for taking the time to look around my blog Lynda. Glad you found something of interest for both you and your Mother.
Patricia Perth Australia