Olympic Lavender Farm

#3 on Farm Tour Map
Farm Tour Bus Route B

Farm Activities

1432 Marine Drive
Sequim, WA 98382
360-683-4475
info@olympiclavender.com
www.olympiclavender.com

Olympic Lavender Farm is a certified organic farm located on the Dungeness Scenic Loop with a wonderful panoramic view of the Olympic Mountains.  Stroll through the lavender fields, U-pick lavender or find that perfect lavender plant for your home or garden.  Visit our Lavender Studio, offering specialty culinary and body products.  Meet the farmers, Steve and Mary Borland, who will share their expertise.  Enjoy the many lavender growing and craft demonstrations, good food and savory lavender deserts at Olympic Lavender Farm.

 

Education is a Lavender Essential at Olympic Lavender Farm

Story by Betty Oppenheimer

Panoramic mountain vistas, the scent of lavender and salt sea air, serene surroundings and a personal touch characterize Olympic Lavender Farm, located on the Dungeness Scenic Loop. Owners Steve and Mary Borland have been involved with Sequim’s lavender industry since the early planning meetings in 1995, and have spent the last 10 years building a farm that offers certified organic plants, bundles, loose bud and a wide variety of products – all locally produced.

 “People come here for the peaceful, low key atmosphere, and for information,” said Mary, an Elementary Special Education teacher from Sept. through June, and a lavender farmer year-round. The atmosphere is low key, but there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.

With about 5,000 plants in the ground including Grosso, Provence, Royal Velvet and 10 other varieties of English lavender, the small farm keeps the couple busy. Being a certified organic farm requires a lot of hand work – mostly weeding – and Steve and Mary do it all. Planting, weeding, pruning, harvesting, bundling and defoliating keep them busy and in-shape, with the help of a few helpers during the high season.

Grosso, with its long, sturdy stems and large flowers is sold mostly in bundles. Provence bud, which naturally falls off the stems as it dries, is sold as loose bud and used in sachet blends. And the Angustifolia, primarily Royal Velvet with its tiny, deep purple, intensely fragrant bud known for its sweetness in perfumes and cooking, is offered in both bundle and bud form. They also sell 30 varieties of plants, propagated for them by lavender grower extraordinaire, Victor Gonzales.

Steve has become a distillation expert, steam-distilling about 25% of their crop into essential oil and hydrosol (flower water) for essential oil and product sales. He has no illusions about competing with giant producers such as Bulgaria, where 140 tons of lavender essential oil is produced annually. His 7 ½ gallon still produces just a few ounces of oil in its 3-hour processing period.

“I’m not in the volume essential oil business,” said Steve. “We want to produce high quality oil that smells good, for retail and product use.”

Distillation has proven to be a real draw for visitors to the farm, so in addition to Steve’s small-scale still, the Borlands arrange for Newhouse Manufacturing of Oregon to bring a much larger still and offer demonstrations throughout the festival. Throughout the harvest season, visitors to the farm can learn about the science of distillation from Steve, who is fascinated by the mechanics of distillation, oil yield and ester count, as they relate to the perfume and aromatherapy industries and to Olympic Lavender’s line of bath and body products.

            Over the years, Mary has become a familiar face to locals and tourists alike. She’s had a booth at Sequim’s Open Aire Market every Saturday from May through October for the last 10 years.

            “I’m there every week. I get a lot of repeat customers, and locals who bring out-of-town visitors to the market,” said Mary.

But it’s not all about sales for the Borlands. After ten years in the lavender business, Steve and Mary have learned a lot, much of it through trial and error. Their legendary first mistake was planting in summer – the only time of year when new starts require watering.

“I’m an educator at heart. I like to talk to people, and I hope they get something out of the experience,” she said, eager to share the lessons of their decade-long, trial and error lavender farming experience. Willingness to learn new things, be involved in the larger community, and to diversify (from plants to a wide variety of wholesale and retail products) have proven to be the key.

Mary has served on the Sequim Lavender Growers Association Board since 1999, working through all of the business, political, civic and personal issues that any newly formed organization faces as it struggles to grow into a functional trade association.

“I’ve seen a huge transformation in the SLGA,” she said. “We now have a clear vision, and we check everything we do against that mission and vision.”

In June, July and August, the farm and on-site gift shop, The Lavender Studio, are open from 11-5, seven days a week. Mary extends the personal touch with her booth at Sequim’s Open Aire Market on Saturdays weekly from May through October, and sells product on the Internet year round.