What Lavender Likes

Lavender likes it here. Surprisingly, against common lore, it likes quite a bit of water to look good. It will stay alive on little, and it likes dry air, but it looks better, smells more fragrant and is nicer plant if it gets irrigated.
 

This one by our front walk does. It doesn't like overly wet soil or winter sogginess, but with a drip irrigation emitter at its base it gets some regular water every week.

And this year we have had an early and generous monsoon season already. Several inches of soaking rain have arrived over the last two and a half months. It's been great.

Santa Fe is a whole different city when summer rains green things up. Almost no one has a grass lawn, but the weeds and fields and open areas, and all the road medians are softly green now.

And the lavender likes it. 

I never liked heavy artificial lavender scented soaps or sachets or oils, ick. But the fragrance of natural lavender on the plant is intensely delightful. I've cut some and put the stems in a jar to dry and that's nice too. Not at all like drugstore lavender, it smells refreshing and delicate.

Lavender is recommended for its calming and soothing properties for sleep and anxiety, even for pain relief. I just like it -- the plant, the scent, the soft color. And lavender likes it here with a little more water than you would expect.