Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
There’s a down side to looking for interesting things to photograph. Sometimes they start calling to you. Like this planter at Over the Fence. I was able to resist. It’s blue. I like blue but that’s not the right color.
Then I discovered it in white. White would work. “Not in the budget! Not in the budget!” The mantra is working. For now.
This truck is moldering at Lavender Connection. You only see the front end of it because, well, the rest of it was hidden behind a porta-potty. Not nearly as scenic to my eye.
Here’s another way that the lavender in Sequim gets processed: it’s dried. We were invited into the drying barn at Kitty B’s Lavender where workers were busy processing bundles of lavender to be hung and dried.
Bundles are hung like string bound vines with fans running to keep down mildew.
Dried lavender is sold as aromatic bouquets and sachets, woven into wreaths and flower arrangements, and some strains have culinary uses as in herbs de Provence. It can be mixed into baking soda and used as a carpet freshener or mixed into sugar as a flavoring.
While Sequim’s lavender farms sell u-pick and pre-picked bouquets of fresh lavender, there’s plenty left over for popular lavender products.
This summer’s weather cooperated with sunny, dry conditions and some crops were harvested before and during the Lavender Festival.
I’ll show you what happens with bouquets like these over the next couple of days.
My favorite lavender operations have a dreamy setting with nice views. Kitty B’s is one of those operations.
The farm is beautifully manicured and has the requisite gazebo that adds just the right touch.
Like most of our lavender farms, Kitty B’s has a residence on site. Its garden is a knockout.
There is a three day street fair as part of the Sequim Lavender Festival. Several blocks downtown become a pedestrian thoroughfare, lined with vendor booths. Lavender in every form is sold. And dozens of vendors also sell arts and crafts, jewelry, clothing, candles, you name it. The fair is always a big draw and last Friday, the first day, was no exception.
This was one of the more clever tee shirts for sale.
And this was the day’s winner in the “my sentiments exactly!” category.
Earth Muffin is another small lavender operation in Sequim and is one of the more recent additions. There are 270 plants locally and another 120 offsite in Everett. Like most of our growers, they distill their own essential lavender oil and produce lotions and flower water. Admission is free and they welcome visitors during the Lavender Festival.
They are easy to find at the corner of Woodcock and Cays Roads.