  |
2009 Farm Tours
Friday, Saturday
and Sunday, July 17-19, 2009
10am to 6pm
Tickets: $15.00 - children age 12 and under admitted free.
The Sequim Lavender Growers Association invites you experience the fragrance and splendor of this amazing herb. Each farm is distinctive, reflecting the vision of its owner and the surrounding environment. Farmers share their techniques for cultivating, harvesting, drying and using lavender. U-pick lavender is offered at each farm, plus workshops, demonstrations, craft artists, music, food and beverages. Take advantage of our “Meet the Farmer” daily programs to find out how they work their magic.
Tickets to the farms
are $15.00 (free admission for children age 12 and under).
Your ticket includes the Festival Support Button, 
admission to all the farms for all three days of the Festival,
and unlimited use of the Farm Tour Buses sponsored by Kitsap
Bank, John L. Scott - Sequim, The Sequim Gazette and Wilder Auto.
Tickets are sold at the information booths at the Street Fair,
Sequim-Dungeness Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, and at the entrance
of each farm. Prior to the festival tickets can be purchased at local outlets.
Click here to find a location near you.
ENJOY THE FULL SPlENDOR OF THE LAVENDER SEASON
The Sequim Lavender Growers Association has over 30 members. Many farms are open to the public throughout the lavender season (June-September) and some are open year-round.
Sunday Farm Tour Culinary Program Schedule
For the first time in its 12-year history, the Sequim Lavender Festival’s seven farms on tour will host culinary demonstrations on Sunday to show how lavender can enliven a variety of dishes.
Jardin du Soleil — Sunday, 11 a.m.
Farm Tour Bus B
Chef Michael Despars of Port Angeles CrabHouse Restaurant will be preparing a sweet twist on a classic summer dish — Peach Lavender BBQ Chicken at Jardin du Soleil.
Purple Haze Lavender Farm — Sunday 11:30 a.m.
Farm Tour Bus D
Oven Spoonful pairs up with Purple Haze Lavender Farm to prepare demonstration of fresh local Wild King Salmon Flambé.
Cedarbrook Lavender & Herb Farm — Sunday noon
Farm Tour Bus A
Cedarbrook Lavender & Herb Farm will host a cooking demo featuring Braised Lavender Vegetables with Pamela Thomas.
Olympic Lavender — Sunday 12:30 p.m.
Farm Tour Bus B
Join Lavender Infusions by Mary Ann Clayton of Sugarplum Designs to learn how to turn fresh lavender into a beautiful purple liquid to use in syrups and jellies and other delicious treats.
Sunshine Herb & Lavender Farm — 1 p.m.
Farm Tour Bus C
Carmen Ragsdale will share the nuances of cooking with lavender and herbs by demonstrating selected signature recipes from her three-volume series “Cooking with Sunshine Herbs and Lavender.”
Lost Mountain Lavender — Sunday 2 p.m.
Farm Tour Bus A
Cedar Creek Restaurant chef Doug Seaver will demonstrate the many fascinating uses of culinary lavender including creating lavender cupcakes, which will be available all weekend.
Port Williams Lavender Farm — Sunday 3 p.m.
Farm Tour Bus D
Get ready to tempt all your senses when Ricki Porter, chef of Michael's Divine Dinning, prepares his famous Lavender BBQ Chicken.
JUST FOR FUN
We asked the the seven Farms on Tour what their favorite lavender plant was….
Cedarbrook Lavender & Herb Farm
Marcella’s favorite: Royal Velvet. “It is beautiful fresh or dried, and the lavender bud can be used for culinary purposes. I am a floral designer and the dried stems work beautifully for florals. The flower heads remind me of someone with gorgeous blue eyes “
Gary’s favorite: Hidcote Blue “It’s the best of both worlds -
It has a wonderful lavender fragrance…
and a beautifully dark purple flower.
Lost Mountain Lavender
Barb’s Favorite: For landscape plants, I really love the L. angustifolia X L. lanatas. Both Sawyers and Richard Gray are beautiful compact plants with bright purple flowers. They have gorgeous silvery foliage with a slight fuzz that makes a brilliant contrast with the purple blossoms. And they stay attractive throughout the year.
Of course, for overall versatility, you can't go wrong with a Grosso plant. They are one of the most fragrant lavenders. They are beautiful in the garden with long flowing dark bluish purple lavender stalks, which are great for dried floral and lavender crafts. I usually tell my customers "if you're going to only grow one lavender plant, this is a really great choice."
Port Williams Lavender
Sue’s Favorites: Royal Velvet - A truly Beautiful deep purple lavender that retains its color even when dry. It has pleasing green foliage and when in bloom a lovely aromatic scent. Wonderful as an essential oil, great as a culinary lavender and will work well for many crafting purposes.
Seal - One of my favorite landscaping plants. It is a very large lavender bush with beautiful green foliage. When it is in bloom the size and lovely lavender color of this particular variety makes it a showstopper.
Super - Really needs a more elegant name to adequately describe this beautiful lavender. Long stemmed with a lovely medium lavender flower, if you pause long enough, you might just catch a whiff of mint in the background. Makes a very nice essential oil and makes a wonderfully fresh scented lavender bud for crafting purposes.
Olympic Lavender Farm
Mary & Steve’s Favorite: Our favorite Angustifolia is Royal Velvet because it is very dark, and stays on the stem. Our favorite Lavendin is Grosso because it has strongest scent and long stem and stays on the stem.
Jardin du Soleil
Pam’s Favorites: My two favorite plants are Hidcote, which is dark purple and Blue Cushion, which is a blue purple. Both are compact plants, have good fragrance and work well in gardens as border plants. Both varieties also do well in pots.
Purple Haze Lavender Farm
Mike’s Favorite: I think I would have to go with Grosso. Although I love Royal Velvet and Sachet....Grosso just has so many attributes; the abundance of oil, the beautiful blue florets, and the hardiness of the dried bundles...not to mention how it takes a tough winter and it's ability to grow fast.
Sunshine Herb & Lavender Farm
Steve & Carmen’s Favorite: This year we really like Provence, Royal Velvet & Melessia because they look good, they smell good, and they taste good. They have great uses.