Beginner Gardening: My lavender died., 0 by rampbrat

rampbrat wrote:
I had a beautiful lavender that I absolutely adored! Last fall and this spring it was particularly productive. Then in mid June, I noticed some dead branches on the perimeter of the plant. They just looked like they had dried out. As time went on I noticed a few more. I didn't see any pests on it and the flowers continued to bloom. We were gone for a week on a mission trip and when I came back, there was like a swath of dead right through the middle. Now it's pretty much all gone. At the end, it gave off a really strong scent of lavender. We have had some really hot weather, but it did get some shade in the afternoon and in the past heat hasn't bothered it. I have been told that lavenders only live about 5 years and its 4 or 5 years old. Ya'll think this is just a plant that lived it's life or something else? It was SO healthy and beautiful just before it died. Opinions?