Three Lavenders

'Sweet Sunshine' witch hazel has failed. It did not come back this spring. It did not leaf out, despite promise.

There are several reasons why this small potted tree failed me. The first:

I poisoned it. I added too much fertilizer last summer and created nitrogen toxicity and the leaves turned blue, then black. Ouch. But they started to re-emerge a healthy light green later in the season.

Those deep blue leaves are poisoned by too much nitrogen.
The emerging brighter green leaf came out later.

The second reason:

It was very cold for a long time this winter. Weeks on end saw temperatures in the teens, and in a pot this witch hazel was too cold. It is hardy, but not in a pot and not for so many unrelenting weeks of frigid weather.

The third reason:

I re-potted it at the wrong time. It was blooming in February and March and when I got a bigger pot for it I repotted it while still in bloom. I don't think it liked that.

Just repotted in early March, while still in bloom.

So . . . now I have to replace it. I liked the architectural look of a woody shrub in a turquoise pot --- it gave me something structural to look at in winter from inside the sliding glass doors.

And the fragrance --- I cannot describe how fleetingly sweet and rich the smell of a witch hazel in bloom in winter is.

But, enough with the eastern plants I know and love. Enough with the witch hazel. It's time to think southwestern, and the solution to this turquoise pot at the corner of the deck is something adapted to this climate.

I'm going to put in three lavenders of different colors and textures. It will all be evergreen in winter, so I'll have something to look at from inside the sliding glass doors, much like the woody structure of the hazel shrub.

'After Midnight', "Gros Bleu' and "Miss Katherine'

The three lavenders are 'After Midnight', a dark purple flowered variety, and 'Miss Katherine', a pink flowered lavender, and "Gros Bleu', which has silver foliage. I saw them growing together, almost as one big plant, in a container at the Waterwise plant sale, and they were lovely. The planting in a pot on the deck will be structural, evergreen, and very appropriate to this climate.

You have to picture these spindly little new plants all blended together filling out the pot entirely!

It has taken me a while to let go of the eastern plants and shrubs and flowers I loved. I will miss having a witch hazel here just as I miss so many of the familiar plants I grew and loved back east. I will really miss the scent of witch hazel in winter.

But lavenders, planted together to bloom as one with different colors, will be nice. And fragrant. And very appropriate for a pot in a dry southwest garden.

I can let go of the standards and favorites I knew before and try plants new to me that grow better in my new location. I can do this.