In pursuit of purple

Sequim, the “Lavender Capital of North America,” is celebrating our purpleness this weekend with the annual Lavender Faire and Festival. Our weather has been perfect and the timing is right: the fields are in peak form and they look great.

We had time yesterday to take in just a couple of the many farms that have opened their doors to visitors. My camera favored Oliver’s Lavender Farm, shown here.

Lavender grows well in many areas of Sequim. It likes loose, sandy soil and not too much moisture. Though soils vary throughout this region (my garden is favored with a choice blend of clay and concrete), many places have the “just right” conditions for lavender. Plant it there and watch it take off.

Most of our lavender growers enhance the view with garden features and plantings that would make a brown thumb ache with envy. But it’s also an inspiration to take ideas home.

There are lavender plants virtually everywhere, ready for the home gardener. Or baskets and clippers to pick some fresh to take along. Or bundles of dried lavender. Or any imaginable lavender-based lotion or potion.

Next stop: Lavender

We’re heading into the Sequim lavender season. Early blooming lavender is showing its color and our commercial lavender operations are getting ready for company: the annual Lavender Faire and Festival begins July 19. Jardin du Soleil, above, is open for business.

Sequim and the Dungeness Valley is a premier lavender growing region and as our growers open their gates to visitors and harvest this year’s crop there are plenty of attractions for visitors and locals. It’s time for total lavender immersion.

Poppy time

Poppies are blooming all over these days and the colors are predictably gorgeous. Red ones really pop in the landscape and orange California poppies pave roadsides. Last night I got a fistful of purple poppy seeds from a neighbor. Mixed with red ones from another neighbor (that I forgot to plant last year) I’m imagining a glorious display next summer. This time I’ve made a note on the calendar to plant them. I hope it works to remind me.

More Pioneer Park

When I posted twoshots of Pioneer Memorial Park earlier this month someone asked to see more of the park. Today and tomorrow I’ll do just that. Above is a shot along a semi-circular drive that takes visitors in and out of this little 2.5 acre gem. The rhodies were spectacular when I visited, a real treat.

There’s a small building in the park. It and the grounds are run by the Sequim Prairie Garden Club, which uses it for their annual spring plant sale. They also rent it for local events. Two people were using another nearby picnic table when I was there. It’s a beautiful spot to settle down for a visit and enjoy these beautifully manicured grounds on a nice spring day.

The days of bees and roses

The wild nootka roses are beginning to bloom again. For anyone fond of the adage, “stop and smell the roses” this is cause for celebration. Their scent is classic, heavenly rose. But my human nose wasn’t the only thing enjoying the roses. This bee was having a field day. It was lingering, almost lounging. If it could have rolled in the pollen I think it would have. And if I’d have been able to turn it into a cartoon, the thought bubble would say – with a French accent – “Oh, ma cherie! It has been so long! My heart has ached for the beauty of your soft petals and the sweetness of your pollen! At last! We are together again!” or, you know, something roughly like that.

And which makes me wonder: did you know that only female bees collect pollen?

Pioneer Memorial Park

Pioneer Memorial Park is located on East Washington Street, along the main drag of Sequim. It’s a small park – 2.5 acres – but it offers a head-snapping view for anyone driving by in spring when it pops out in a riot of blossoms and dazzling spring color. It’s an unexpected wow after a long winter.

The park site was a cemetery at the turn of the last century and was closed in 1914. Human remains were moved and eventually the Sequim Prairie Garden Club took over the site which by then was neglected and overgrown. The club presently has a 99 year lease – until 2051. A small clubhouse at the park is available for rentals and is the site of the club’s popular spring plant sale.