IF you're thinking of planting lavender, remember that it is a Mediterranean plant and requires a sunny position in a freed-raining, light, neutral to alkaline soil. Don't cram it in with other plants, as it likes to have a free flow of air around it. If your soil is heavy, you need to dig in masses of grit, as lavender will die if it is waterlogged. A disease called "shab", where the plant yellows and dies stem by stem, is caused by the fungus Phomopsis lavandulae. It enters the plant through pruning cuts or other injuries to the bark. Shab-affected parts should be cut out immediately, right back to healthy wood. The plant may die anyway, as the disease progresses swiftly after it manifests its symptoms.
Meanwhile, continuously flowering roses, such as hybrid teas and floribundas can do with a midsummer feed now. Use a proprietary rose food, or, if you're organically-inclined, pelleted chicken manure.