Cedarbrook Lavender
& Herb Farm
#7 on Farm Tour Map
Farm Tour Bus Route C
1345 S. Sequim Ave.
Sequim, WA 98382
360-683-7733
cedbrook@olypen.com
www.cedarbrooklavender.com
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We welcome you to Washington State’s oldest herb farm. Stroll our unique display gardens and discover the many nuances of lavender colors, scents and varieties. Choose from hundreds of lavender plants. Visit the historic Bell House gift shop and meet owners Gary and Marcella Stachurski who will help you select just the right plant or gift. Enjoy the music, food, the wonderful view, and much more at Cedarbrook during the festival weekend and all year long.
Couple takes Washington’s First Herb Farm into the new century
Story by Betty Oppenheimer
Marcella and Gary Stachurski, owners of Cedarbrook Lavender and Herb Farm since February 2005, are proud to carry on the legacy of Washington State’s oldest herb farm. Marcella, a Master Gardener, gets a bit teary-eyed when she talks about the history of the land she and Gary now own.
“The peonies are more than 30 years old. I’m excited about propagating the bay trees and other old cultivars I’m discovering on the grounds. I just found a stack of old recipe sheets from the 1970s. I walk around the farm with people who point nostalgically at old fashioned flowers they remember from their childhoods.”
Opened by Karman McReynolds in 1967, Cedarbrook Herb Farm’s business catapulted forward with a three-fold increase in sales when she invested money in getting brochures on the ferry system in 1982, enticing tourists to her homegrown plants and gift shop in the historic Bell Farmhouse. In 1987, after working alongside her mother for 14 years, Toni Anderson and her husband Terry bought the farm. Involved in Sequim’s lavender vision from the very beginning, they continued to grow the farm’s inventory and reputation, adding lavender fields to the herbal mix (which had always included lavender, some of it from very old starts planted in the area in the 1930s, when L. J. Wyckoff had tried to grow lavender in Port Townsend and Yelm, Washington) and Petal’s Garden Restaurant, until they retired to the Southwest in 2005.
“I took the baton from Toni that she took from her Mom. I want to use all of my power and might to continue what they began, and then enhance it,” said Marcella.
An educator by trade, Marcella loves gardening. Gary, a Network Analyst, spent time as a child on his uncle’s orange grove.
“Owning a farm was a vision of ours when we got married,” said Gary. “I have great memories of smelling the blossoms in spring, the smudge pots in fall, and of spending time at the old farmhouse.”
Marcella wasn’t quite able to define what that vision would look like until she completed an entrepreneur class at Bellevue Community College in 2003. Then it became clear – a specialty nursery and gift shop would satisfy her four loves - gardening, crafts, education and people.
“This farm found us,” she said of Cedarbrook Lavender and Herb Farm. “We visited Sequim after reading an article in Better Homes and Gardens about Jardin du Soleil, and discovered that Cedarbrook was for sale.”
Last year, immediately following their first Lavender Festival, Cedarbrook was contacted by, a French bodycare firm, in need of 5,000 perfect bundles of lavender for a huge promotional celebration. The Stachurskis amazed themselves (and almost overwhelmed the folks at the Sequim Post Office) when they managed to safely ship the 200 cartons of lavender, and then saw their lavender transformed into a “field” of blossoms in New York’s Rockefeller Center. (Photo on display in shop.)
Clearly, the new business is exciting, and at times overwhelming. But that stress is mitigated with help from Adam Scholze, farm manager, and members of their blended family; her son Keith lives and works on site, and daughter Tracie makes the goat’s milk soap. His daughter landscape architect Emily, designed the new patio, while Gary does the bookkeeping for the new business venture. Marcella, a crafter since her teenage years, and Tracie make many of Cedarbrook’s signature products, including candles, massage cream, body spritzer, linen spray and culinary goods. Lavender starts are grown on site, and other herbs are propagated by Kate Dushane.
Beyond the farm, Marcella looks forward to being involved in the Sequim community, and hopes to connect through educational channels. Throughout her career, she was involved with high school students, and often with foreign exchange students.
The Stachurskis strive to make the focus of the festival educational for adults and children. Last year’s crafting booths and storytelling sessions proved that such offerings are popular.
To Marcella and Gary, this new venture in their lives feels like it was meant to be.
“I’m not related to the original owners, but it’s really neat to carry it on. History, family and tradition are very important to me,” she said.