We’re opening the Grosso lavender field for U-Cut this weekend, July 6-7. Come on by and walk the labyrinth, enjoy the blooming flower arcs, visit the chickens, ducks and geese, and then stop off in the North Block lavender field to cut some lavender for yourself! You can put it in water to have fresh in a vase or hang it upside down in a warm, dark place to dry and use it for making sachets. We use our garage for drying small batches of lavender, and a larger barn for the main harvest. It’s a beautiful sight!
Other things to do with fresh lavender include:
- Lavender wands: Rather like basket-weaving, a colored ribbon is woven between the lavender stems, capturing the buds within a pocket of stems and ribbon. Here’s a nice YouTube video for how to do it. Trust me, your first one will look a little weird, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly!
- Lavender baskets: Similar to wand-making in technique, with a twist. A cute little woven basket with lavender spikes is the result. Make a few lavender wands first, to get the hang of it, then dive into basket-making. Here’s a tutorial.
- Lavender wreaths: Using a wreath frame, attach small bundles of fresh or dried lavender in a flowing pattern. You’ll need LOTS of lavender for a wreath, more than you think. We have wreath frames for sale at the farm stand. Here’s a great website with instructions for making a lavender wreath.
- Lavender sachets: You’ll need dried lavender to make sachets. Hang lavender in bunches in a warm, dark location to dry for about a week. Wearing gloves, roll the lavender between your hands to de-bud the stems. Cleanup of the buds to remove the dust and larger stem parts can be done with a sieve or a strainer. Place buds in organza bags to contain them, or sew them into eye pillows or laundry fresheners.
Or just enjoy the view and take a few photos with the lavender! Check out the Lavender Bloom Status page to see how each of the varieties of lavender is progressing. See you on the farm!
Hi, I’m excited about the U-cut opportunity tomorrow &, wondering if there is a charge & do I bring my own clippers & if so should they be cleaned /sterilized in any way .
Thank you.
Suzi
Hi Suzi,
It’s free to visit the farm. U-cut lavender is $5/bunch.
Cheers,
Susan
Your lavender is beautiful. Is your property accessible to a wheelchair? Recently I had open heart surgery and my son and wife are coming from Cloverdale to take me to Church tomorrow Thought it would be a nice day to visit your lovely lavender gardens. Please let me know. Thank you!.
Hi Lorraine,
The farm is mostly accessible by wheelchair. The short path to the center of the labyrinth is on packed gravel about 100 ft from the parking space reserved for wheelchair access, and we have recently covered the gravel with a carpet runner to make it more accessible to those on wheels. If you’d like to travel the entire length of the one-half mile labyrinth path, we recommend you use a chair with wide tires. Thin wheelchair wheels may sink into the gravel and be difficult to propel forward, particularly in the spring when the underlying ground is soft. The rest of the farm is on a gentle slope with hard-packed gravel roads, so is easily manageable with an assistant. For a wheelchair with wide tires, the farm is easily accessible at all times of the year. I hope you can visit!