August-September, 2020
Did you know? I didn’t know! The greater Sequim (skwim) area is known nationally (and possibly internationally) as a major center of Lavender farms. Besides smelling so lovely, the plant Lavender is known for many things … it is used to relieve stress, insomnia, depression, pain after surgery, and it is used as a flavor in many foods and beverages. It is used in soaps, cosmetics, and perfumes. It also seems to have antibacterial and antifungal properties. It is harvested and sold in the floral market. And, when grown in your garden, it’s just really pretty.
Most varieties of Lavender plants blossom in spring or summer. I was camping here in September, maybe a bit late for the season, but there were still plants blooming in a few of the fields that I had driven past on the day I first drove to the campground. So what could I do but go find a farm and check it out?
Ah, here’s a farm now …
Around the Sequim area, you can often tell where the Lavender farms are by the lavender colored flags and the lavender colored picnic table umbrellas and, of course, signs with lavender letters.
This farm seemed like a nice place, not too many folks were visiting, so I pulled in and parked.
I didn’t go into the store. I started my tour by heading out to the fields. Oh my gosh, even the few fields that were still in bloom smelled so good!
Some fields were just dirt, ready to be planted. Some fields were covered with black plastic, with tiny new plants just starting to come through. Other fields had small, but well-established “adult” plants. And a very few fields had huge, healthy full-grown plants … you’ll see one of those soon.
I was curious about the fields with brand new plants in them. I was surprised the farmers would lay down black plastic around the plants since that would prevent water getting down into the ground around the roots.
Even with a sprinkler at each plant (photo below) it seemed the plant wouldn’t really get much water. Hmmmm.
Besides plants, I found this one visitor below on the black ground-cover. I was a visitor too, so I thought kindly of this little person. I hoped it wouldn’t damage the Lavender.
Later in this day, when I looked at the photo above on my laptop, I saw that the black ground-cover wasn’t “black plastic” but was a woven material, so water could get through it and get to the roots of each plant.
The plants above have been blooming for a few years and will continue to grow much larger with more and more blooms.
Then I noticed that each field contained a different variety of Lavender. And, on this farm, each variety was clearly named. This one farm grows more than a dozen different varieties.
The photo below is a large field full of adult, blooming Grosso Lavender. It smelled wonderful!
I wandered around the fields a bit longer, and eventually headed back to the farm buildings. A worker told me I was welcome to enter the barn in the photo below. I saw no other visitors doing that but I was happy to accept the welcome.
As soon as I entered that dark doorway, I turned and looked to the left …
Rows and rows and rows of Lavender being dried in preparation for sale and/or for production of products such as lavender oil.
For some reason, all those chains and all that Lavender hanging from the ceiling made my neck squirm a bit. I hoped the Lavender didn’t mind being hung like that.
There was an oscillating fan near the entrance door that ran constantly to help the plants dry.
The photo above and the photo below show two different varieties of Lavender that were hanging, drying, in the barn.
The back wall of the barn is still the original timber wall from 1920 when the farm was a dairy farm.
Notice the two copper “stills” near the back wall. I don’t know what they were used for, maybe making and refining “lavender water”? Or maybe they remove oil from the Lavender?
Being of Scottish ancestry, I did wonder for a moment whether there might be a wee dram of whisky being produced, but I knew better. 🙂
I loved all the information about Lavender plants that I was given by the people working here. But I was fascinated by the machine above. I stood and watched it work for quite some time. I certainly didn’t understand every piece of the machine, what it’s purpose was, but it was most impressive.
Here’s a video of the busy, busy machine separating out certain portions of the Lavender plants into four separate buckets.
This farm, the B&B Family Lavender Farm, was great fun to explore. The people working there were friendly and helpful and informative. The whole place smelled divine. If you’re ever in the area around mid-July when the Sequim Lavender Festival happens, do stop in!