Lavender dreams
We are building the lavender farm of our dreams.
Windy Acres lavender fields
Craig began working on the paddock preparation in September 2020. We engaged the help of an agronomist to help test the soil and water, and he recommend the best organic products to add nutrients to the soil for the lavender.
Careful consideration has been taken to ensure the rows run with the slope of the land into the running water ways, ensuring excellent drainage.
We purchased dripper irrigation locally, as this is something that is important to us, to support other local businesses. This preparation was ongoing until we received our first lavender plants from Larkman’s Nursery in February 2021.
Our first planting included Lavandula x Intermedia ‘Grosso’, ‘Avice Hill’ and ‘Swampy’. We started with 6,000 plants in total. Both of our families helped us lovingly hand plant them over two days. Our next delivery was 2,000 Lavandula Angustifolia x ssp ‘True English’ at the beginning of March 2021 which Alicia, with the help of her parents, planted during a break in the torrential rain.
With Craig continuing to work FIFO during this time, it certainly requires a lot of communication and teamwork.
We made a commitment to farm without pesticides and herbicides to ensure the health of our bees but also the purity of our lavender.
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Lavender or lavandre comes from the Latin lavare or ‘to wash’. Lavender is a part of the mint (Lamiaceae) family.
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It is a sweet herbaceous shrub characterised by silver/blue long leaves and, famously, its beautiful long purple/blue flowers.
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The herb has been used for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians used lavender in their baths, as a perfume for relaxation and for cooking.
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The flower and oil can be used for medicinal purposes, commonly for treating stress, anxiety, depression, dementia and pain.
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Lavender is used topically to treat skin imperfections and bites as well as for stress and relaxation. It’s a common ingredient in cosmetics and perfumes.
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The whole plant can be utilised in production of a wide range of products from the flower, buds, leaves and stems. The dried buds can be used for a variety of culinary uses.
Our lavender varieties
As lavender is such a diverse product we decided on a few varieties for different purposes.
Lavandula Angustifolia x intermedia ‘Grosso’ – 4,000 plants. Characterised by their deep violet large flower head, it is very versatile. We will use this variety for buds, fresh and dried bunches and essential oil. Plus products made with these.
Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Avice Hill’ – 1,000 plants. A small plant with very sweet scented flowers. This will mainly be used for high quality boutique essential oil.
Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Swampy’ – 1,000 plants. A mid sized plant with lovely deep purple flowers, and used similarly to the Grosso.
Lavandula Angustifolia x ssp Lavandula Angustifolia – 2,000 plants. A True English lavender with A grade oil properties.
Now we have our parent stock we will propagate onsite to further plant our land. Stay tuned for more on this and an opportunity to purchase Windy Acres Farm lavender for your own garden.
