A lavender birthday

My birthday was this past week so, like any good pseudo-gardener, I bought myself a garden toy.  Of course, there were a few plant purchases and a fairly large internet order I plan to place when the temps drop, but my power-toy purchase was more of a need than a want.

My new hedge trimmer 

You see, I love lavender.  And that can create a problem.  Which it has.  Those diminutive 4 inch pots of silvery-blue scented loveliness quickly turned into 6 foot-wide mounds of all-reaching, shin-scratching, path-obliterating messiness.  They still smell lovely, though, or their days would be numbered.

The 5-foot wide walkway is nearly covered.  

In the only nod to formal organization in the front garden, years ago I lined the path to the side of the house with lavender.  Since the plants were tiny and cheap, I actually planted them before the stone path was installed.  Originally, they were a good 3 feet apart and some 20 inches from the walkway, but no more.

What walkway?

For the past few years, I've been cutting back the lavender with garden shears, but it is tedious, back-breaking work that I have to do over the course of several days.  With the electrical hedge trimmer, though, I was able to get most of the job done in just half an hour.

What a difference!

It still needs to be cleaned up a bit, and I need a longer cord to finish the left side.  Plus, next time I will definitely wear a back brace.  But, I am very happy with the results and discovered an added benefit: although not exceedingly loud, it scares even the yappiest of dogs into silence. 

Still needs some work.

And, of course, look what I forgot!