Mark your calendars for our next open-farm weekend on September 11 and 12, from 10 AM to 3 PM! We’ve been busy here at Bees N Blooms with lavender propagation and will have many healthy 1-gallon lavender plants ready for your gardens! We’ll also have dried lavender bundles fresh from the August harvest and beautiful flower bouquets from Sidekick Flowers. No reservations required, free admission. Come out and enjoy the farm, walk the Lavender Labyrinth, check out progress on the new butterfly garden, visit the geese and the chickens, and hang out on the porch swing in the North Block.
Early fall is one of the best times to get new lavender plants in the ground. With the remaining warmth of summer, the temperatures are usually perfect—not too hot, not too cool— for plants to get their roots established before winter dormancy. Come spring, they will be ready to burst forth with new growth so you can reap the rewards of beautiful bloom in June. To make sure you won’t miss out, you can pre-order through our online store.
We focused our propagation efforts on varieties from the Lavender Labyrinth that are not readily available in Northern California. Click on any photo to enlarge.
Folgate: Our absolute favorite!! Folgate is an English lavender (angustifolia), with an almost iridescent periwinkle bloom, forming a 3-foot wide and tall shrub with stems of 8-10 inches. If purple is your favorite color, this is the variety for you! With a beautiful scent and high oil content with great floral notes, Folgate is commonly used for lavender oil production. Blooming once in early summer, Folgate is both a beautiful landscape plant and excellent for culinary uses.
Melissa: Melissa is an English lavender (angustifolia), forming a 2-foot tall and wide shrub with delicate light pink blooms and stems of 10-12 inches. It is a favorite for culinary use, as it has a slightly peppery flavor. Melissa blooms just once in early summer, and is beautiful in cut flower bouquets and a top choice for savory recipes with meats, salad dressings and marinades.
Violet Intrigue: Another favorite of ours! Violet Intrigue is an English lavender (angustifolia) with lovely violet-purple blooms and 10-12 inch stems on a 2-foot tall and wide shrub. This variety blooms once in early summer. With its strong stems and beautiful blooms, this lavender is an excellent choice for wands, wreaths and sachets.
Royal Velvet: Royal Velvet is an English lavender (angustifolia) with velvety soft, dark royal purple blooms and 12-15 inch stems with gray-green foliage. Blooming in early summer, Royal Velvet is beautiful in both fresh cut and dried bouquets and for making lavender sugar, lavender lemonade and dessert dishes.
White Spike: White Spike is a smaller English lavender (angustifolia) that forms a 2-foot wide and tall shrub with bright white blooms and with 8-10 inch stems. With its elegant flowers and peppery scent, White Spike is a favorite in floral arrangements and for culinary use. Blooming in early summer, White Spike is a beautiful addition to any herb or cut flower garden, making a nice contrast with the purple lavenders.
Munstead: Munstead is an English lavender (angustifolia) with vibrant purple blooms that is about 3 feet wide and tall. Munstead lines the entrance to the Lavender Labyrinth and blooms in early summer. A second, less intense bloom occurs in September. Good for culinary purposes and for dried arrangements, this variety just keeps on giving!
We’ll have our Hidcote Giant plants and more of the above for sale in the spring of 2022.
Hope to see you on the farm!
