It's interesting how all this information gets distributed :-) First, English lavender isn't English at all - it originated from the Mediterranean area, just like all the other species. It is adapted to a maritime, mediterranean climate which England has - cool summers with low humidity and mild, damp winters. And like all other forms of lavender, it should be cut back at least annually. Not doing so does not increase hardiness but it does allow the plant to become leggy and splay outward, developing that gnarly, woody interior. Like heathers and other woody-based subshrubs, the more regularly it is trimmed, the more compact and dense the plant becomes and with the production of more flowering stems. The lavender fields of Provence are indeed lavandin, the common name for Lavandula x intermedia, a cross between L. angustifolia and L. latifolia or spike lavender. This hybrid tends to produce tall flower spikes with very high concentrations of essential oils, which makes this type of lavender very important to the perfume industry. Generally, dividing lavender is a risky situation. Since it is technically considered to be an evergreen shrub (or subshrub) rather than herbaceous perennial, it forms a woody trunk, usually just a single stem emerging from the root crown. And while I'm not saying it cannot be done, division is not a guaranteed successful means of propagation for any woody-based plant. Cuttings are the more accepted means of propagation and are generally the most successful method. Success in growing lavender outside of its typical climate range is variable. It is more cold hardy than many suspect, with the exception of a few very tender species but it does have certain requirements that will increase winter hardiness - extremely sharp drainage, lean soil (not overly organic) and as much sun as possible. Snow cover during winter is actually an excellent means of winter protection. And I would avoid cutting back too soon and beyond where new growth shows in spring. It is very easy to prune an established lavender too hard and it will generally respond by not growing back well, if at all. Very young plants (typically less than 3 y.o.) can appear to die back to the ground in winter in colder climates, much the same as some other woody-based subshrubs do (caryopteris, petrovskia, etc), but provided the above cultural conditions are met, it will be root hardy and re-emerge in spring. And if you are wondering why I appear to be such a know-it-all about lavender (lol!!), I did a thesis on it in college and the Pacific Northwest is the largest commercial lavender growing area outside of southern France :-) Here is a link that might be useful:

Good Morning , (thanks for answering sweetie ) The spots are medium size almost round the center black the rest is gray all the leaves have the same spots I cut some and it grow back with the same problem overall the plant is growing very good (isn't dry or else )Sun only in the morning. I have others herbs growing fine in the same place like rosemary, sage even other kind of basil the one with the big leaves I think it's called italian with no problem. I'm in zone 10 Miami. If you need anything else let me know. Thanks again very sweet of you. My love to all, cordially Consuelo

Your sign in doesn't indicate your gardening zone so I don't know how much cold weather you may have left. You can keep lavender tidy and promote a full appearance by doing some shaping right after its stopped blooming and the flowers are fading, drying. Cut back just far enough to remove the spent flower stems. Do your more extensive pruning early in spring as new green growth emerges at the base of the plant - but wait until this growth begins, will depend on your climate. You may find yourself taking off as much as a third, cutting back just to the new growth that is beginning to appear.

I like your water urn, too. I commend your efforts on the project and see you've gotten some favorable comments. I hate to be a bubble-popper, but think there's something you should consider adjusting at some point. (I understand people are not excited about re-doing things ... me too!) Nevertheless, I think this project would be vastly improved if plants were arranged in blocks instead of lines. You are creating these very narrow stripes and I'm just being honest with you, that things will read artistically stronger if they are in some form of blocks. These plants are small so it wouldn't be hard to do a little re-arranging. I'm only talking about the LITTLE plants. Almost regret posting this. Sorry.