Q. Is there a secret to pruning lavender? Every time I try to cut it back it ends up dying!
Lavender is a tough plant and will grow exceptionally well in the hot, dry inland areas. Sometimes a little too well. I’ve had some lavender plants grow to be 6 feet across. Unfortunately, when it gets that big it will sometimes look kind of rangy. The top part may be covered with flower spikes, but the bottom part will show a lot of bare wood and become unattractive. The temptation is to cut the whole plant back since that strategy works for many perennial shrubs. For some reason, lavender doesn’t like being cut back all at once and will show its displeasure by unceremoniously dying.
After killing several lavender plants this way, I think I’ve discovered the secret to keeping them alive without letting them get out of control. It’s sneaky, but it works. I will cut only 3 or 4 stems back to about a foot (not all the way to the ground). Then I wait a week or two and cut 3 or 4 more stems. The idea is to make the plant think that it’s not getting pruned. Sure, it might take all summer to get the plant under control, but at least it won’t die.
A home should be a reflection of yourself, your family, and your history. Incorporate sentimental pieces and family heirlooms throughout your residence. Bring balance to your space by incorporating both old and new into the design aesthetic and showcasing your personal taste.
Second Chance, by Danielle Steel Spoilers ahead because I need to rant about this one. This book was up and down and back and forth, and a little quirky, but in a way that I could not stop reading. The book took me on a full emotional roller coaster. You care about what is happening to the protagonist Fiona. She seems the opposite of the fashion magnate in The Devil Wears Prada – she is kind, generous, has a heart, and witty. She swears off marriage to focus on her career as a fashion editor. Steel writes with detail. I love her descriptions of people, fashion, and places, and I can very easily visualize the settings. This left me thinking this would be a great movie. Then again, I am glad it didn’t become one as this book took a turn. Fiona at the age of 42 meets and marries a man named John in a 6-month time span. Although everything in her being is saying, “I already have you, don’t I? do we need papers to prove it (161)” “she wanted to hang on lightly. Marriage seems too tight of a grip to her, and she was afraid of being strangled” (162). This guy swears to never leave her, and knows who he is marrying. “Fiona and her surroundings were exotic, from her half naked Pakistani house man to her friends and even in some ways her house and dog, although they were slightly more traditional, but not much” (44), yet two months later he throws in the towel and send her divorce papers after letting his adult children and the housekeeper walk all over him, and his dog attack her twice, resulting in stitches. Though this is somehow all Fiona’s fault as he says, “Fiona, this isn’t working. Our lives are too different. You live in constant chaos and insanity and turmoil…” (191). I really should have stopped reading there, but I was hopefully this protagonist would bounce back, or at least tell this guy to fuck off. Though the book is titled Second Chances, at this point Steele started to check all the boxes. The protagonist quit her job, sold her house, and moved to another country to find herself and embark on a new career. The book should have ended there, but it didn’t. John shows up in Paris from New York and informs her “I can’t live without you”. I almost threw this book across the room, as this character vibrates through the page as a liar, stalker, emotional abuser, manipulator, and narcissist. I do not recommend this book. I hope we would all listen to our gut, and walk into love with our eyes wide open, and at the pace of a wise elder.
My career journal is filled with scraps of paper, my dreams, countless questions, and thoughts; all of which bring a flood of memories with one powerful statement, which is “I wish someone would have told me this.” So, I’ll be the one telling you.
Problem
Solution
Benefit
You evoke an issue, offer a solution, and end by discussing the benefit that your solution will confer.
