McReily's Lavender Farm

What a joy it was to visit McReily's Lavender Farm while vacationing in Colorado last week!


In recent years I've been bit by the lavender bug and I'm always excited to discover a new farm to visit.  

Just north of Boulder we drove along
 a scenic country road until we arrived
 at the farm on Monarch Road. 

The farm is easy to find and
 is well marked.  

 I  first "visited"  the farm via the internet and read about the farm at their website  (here)  before our trip. 
They are open on weekends and  I emailed ahead to confirm.   

Most interesting to me was that they have converted a dairy farm into their home, gardens and studio.   

The barn is lovely as a home and they even kept the silo! 
 An old shed became the flower
 shop and studio where Richelle displays her fresh cut bouquets, lavender products and
 gifts for purchase.    

Richelle gave us a tour of her lovely gardens and answered many of my questions about growing lavender.
I shared with her my plans to enlarge my garden with a dedicated lavender garden and she gave me suggestions of some of the best varieties to grow for scent and cutting. 

We also talked about the weather and how she had damage to her lavender plants this year due to late freezes.   She and her crew are hard at work and she plans on transplanting 
more lavender from another field.    

She also grows many other varieties of  flowers for cutting and creates beautiful bouquets that she 
sells in her shop.

When you open the door to her shop the aroma of lavender rushes out to greet you!  It has been said by scientists that smelling lavender reduces cortisol levels and reduces free radicals in the body.  It 's also long been used to promote relaxation and sleep as well as just encourage a spirit of calmness.   Lavender farmers must be the healthiest  people in the world or maybe just the happiest!

Richelle shared that once her 

flower shop/studio was an old leaning building they refurbished.   Now it is a beautiful cottage space that's dreamy with soft white walls and pretty windows.  She shares the space with her partner Mike who uses the space as his landscape design studio. 

I  just loved the giant windmill, the old vintage trucks and the friendly farm dog who seems to have never
 met a stranger!

I purchased some of Richelle's lavender products and a generous bouquet of  freshly cut lavender to enjoy before thanking her and heading on our way.     

 Mr. Bloomer stored my lavender bouquet in his golf bag so it wouldn't be crushed in my suitcase for the flight home...
his golf bag has never smelled better!

Lavender Farm & Vignette

Lavender is my favorite herb!  I love that it grows here in Oklahoma and with little effort.  It almost thrives on neglect and dry hot summers.   It is not without some problems and too much moisture and humidity can cause the plants to die so selecting the proper planting place in the garden is important. 

I have loved lavender for many years and have grown several varieties in my garden.  I love the look of Spanish lavender with it's pretty frilly blossoms, but it's not a great one for drying since it has short stems.   I have tended  to "over-care" for my lavender plants  and find that I can overwater  easily.   I now make sure I plant it in full sun and in the drier part of my garden. 




   I grow Grosso and Provence and the flowers dry very well and have the strongest oils with nice long stems for cutting.   

Country Cottage Primitives Lavender Farm

I love visiting lavender farms and have been to several in other states.  We are fortunate to have a wonderful farm just 30 miles from Oklahoma City.   A "lively" group of my friends took a field trip to our local lavender farm last week.  

Country Cottage Primitives Lavender Farm  located just outside Shawnee, Oklahoma boasts a darling gift shop, barn and workshop.  The lavender field is right behind the shop and was
 in full bloom for our visit! 

Workshop

 The workshop was so much fun and we each made (or attempted to make)  a  lavender wand while the owner taught  us about the history, uses and 
cultivation of lavenders. 
She and her gracious staff  served us 
lavender lemonade, 
strawberry-lavender jam and 
lavender infused cookies.   Yum!

 We were each given clippers,  a basket and a quick lesson on how to cut and harvest the stems.   Armed with sharp clippers you make a cut at the base of the stem where the leaves begin on the plant.  
We each cut a lovely bouquet to take home. 

My bouquet included Grosso, Provence and Alba
 which is a white variety.   I was also able to purchase two plants of the white variety 
from the farm and 
plant them in my garden!
The bouquet in the herb vase, pictured below
 is  from the herb farm.    




The tied bundles were from two of my plants that I harvested when I got home.  I learned that I need to harvest the stems just as the buds are
 starting to open instead of waiting.  The bundles should then be hung upside down out of direct sunlight for two weeks for drying and secured with a rubber band.    I did finally end up with 5 bundles from my little plants.   I've added 4 additional plants and next year I will be ready for the harvest!  
   If I can get Mr. Bloomers to build me a few more raised beds I'm filling them with lavender plants. 

A couple months ago Mr. Bloomers and I were in Texas and we visited Becker Vineyards and their lavender field.   Becker Vineyards is located outside of Fredericksburg and they grow Spanish lavender.
The day before we arrived a Febreeze commercial had been filmed there.  This lavender is 
going to be famous!  

Becker Vineyard and Lavender

They sell wonderful lavender products in their shop and I purchased some essential oil and spray.   I use the spray on my bed linen and as a spritzer when I come in from the garden...very cooling and  refreshing.   I also spray my dogs with it since it's suppose to deter fleas but I think it just makes them smell better!  Lavender is said to promote sleep,  calmness and back in medieval days was even used for protection against evil spirits!

After harvesting my lavender I trimmed off the excess stem lengths and then cut them into smaller pieces.   All the leaves and stems went into a pretty lace bag that I had collected with some lavender seeds I purchased in Santa Fe.   The stems and leaves are very aromatic as well and I just add a few drops of oil when the scent fades. 

Blooms from my chaste tree compliment my little vignette.  I love the blooms from the  tree 
as it reminds of  lavender and lilacs.  

Chaste tree

My lavender tray stays on my vanity so

 I can enjoy lavender all year long! 

The simple joys in life!

I'm linking with Susan's Outdoor Wednesday

and

Tootsie's Fertilizer Friday

Los Poblanos Lavender Farm

On our recent trip to Santa Fe we took a little day trip to Albuquerque and visited the historical 

 Los Poblanos Lavender Farm.  What a treat for me as I love lavender and anything too do with lavender!  (Even Mr. Bloomers enjoyed visiting this historical farm) 

The tree lined entrance is beautiful and is a lovely greeting to the farm.  There is also a bed and breakfast and more extensive gardens that we found out you can tour by appointment, but the lavender farm and shop was open for visits.  

The parking lot is lined with large mass plantings of lavender that form a heavenly hedge next to a lovely little sitting area.  

The farm shop's aroma is intoxicating...even with the door open and little chickens running in and out the lavender perfumes the entire store!  

I love the architecture of the building and while Mr. Bloomers chatted with the most friendly and informative lavender gardener, I snapped a few pictures of this charming old building. (with his permission of course)

He gave us lots of information about how lavender was brought to the area by the Spanish and was grown along the Rio Grande where the farm continues to grow "Grosso" lavender for the strongest essential oils. 

I had to buy several gallon sized plants and he gave me growing tips as lavender likes well drained sandy soil..(in Oklahoma we have a more clay-like soil).  I am going to grow my new little plants in a raised bed specially prepared just for lavender and use a pea gravel mulch.

There are sweet little animals too...chickens, ducks and goats were in little stalls next to the

 lavender field.  

Los Poblanos has a lavender festival every June and right after we were there he said they were expecting thousands to visit that next weekend..(kind of glad I got there when there were no crowds)  

I enjoyed my visit and learning more about my favorite herb.  I came home with soaps, lotion and essential oils from the plants grown right there on the farm.  Such a simple luxury that I enjoy almost everyday!    

Another view of the lavender field.

To learn more about lavender and the farm I've included the link:

http://www.lospoblanos.com/lavender_farm/

 I'm linking with Susan's Outdoor Wednesday and always enjoy seeing what everyone has to share.