Rusty Dog's Lavender Garden

Rusty's dog kennel sits at the top of the Frisbee Lawn. There's a sleeping compartment and a run, and I've planted a small Lavender Garden around the edges. Just what every good All Black rugby supporter-dog wants and needs...

Go the All Blacks

On the sides of the dog-run a New Zealand All Blacks flag flutters in the wind. There are Rosemary shrubs, Cordylines, and flaxes jammed in the garden behind the Lavenders.

A Clematis called Elizabeth should be going up the gum tree but isn't. A semi-rampant Potato vine climbs around everything, and tries to smother the fence.

Lost Lavenders

These Lavenders all started life planted in other parts of the garden. I had a bit of a mass-purchasing blitz, but then chose totally the wrong situations. Many were in danger of getting totally lost under other plants. Lavenders need sun and space - hey, I knew that!

Common sense prevailed, all the shrubs were dug up, and all planted around the dog motel. They were a bit scruffy until this spring, when there's been fresh new growth on the compact edgers and the first flowers on the larger varieties.

Sorry About the Bees

Rusty the red Border Collie is forever tormented by flying things, including bees, so he probably isn't too impressed with my choice of plant. Sorry, Rusty.

Further developments occured in late summer, 2009, when resident Son-In-Law fancied doing a day's gardening. So I got him to dig and compost a larger garden area in front of the kennel. It's planted with - you guessed - more Lavenders, and some tough Hebes and Agapanthus plants. Nice work!