The Cottage Smallholder

TA, you are lucky that yours lasts all year, especially this last year. Usually annual rocket lasts through the winter here, but not this year. And my big perennial rocket was killed--normally it loses its leaves in the winter but survives. I think I have one small perennial rocket plant, but the rocket I planted a few weeks ago failed to grow, most unusually!

Losing a lavender bush is hard! I thought I had lost one, but trimmed it and found it was fine. I lost a pittosporum I was growing to return privacy to the garden (lots of trees on the other side of the wall were cut down a few years ago, and this had just about grown to the height of the wall), most of my sea beet, bulbs in pots, and my large pittosporum was scorched on one side--not the side I see, but the one facing the nasty new houses   And the cork oak lost all its leaves, and I am not sure yet how much of it is alive. 

Toffeeapple said:

That must have upset you rather a lot Barbara, to lose those.  My Lavender was about 15 years old so it had come to the end of its life anyway but it had been a magnificent specimen, the flower spikes would spread all over the driveway.  I shall miss it,l greatly.

Yes, I am not happy about it all. I am sure you will miss the lavender, it sounds magnificent. I hate the way lavender and thyme and rosemary eventually just die, of cold or old age.

I just looked for my rocket, and the poor plant is about 6 inches tall, with enough leaves to keep it alive but none for me to pick yet.

Mike, try perennial rocket too. For annual rocket, I just put the flowers, or buds, into salad, when it starts to bolt--if it is producing too many shoots that are flowering for me to eat them I compost them. I get away with one, or sometimes two, sowings per year that way.