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Purple Haze Lavender
#D on Farm Tour Map
Farm Tour Bus Route C
Mike & Roslind Reichner
180 Bell Bottom Lane
Sequim, WA 98382
360-683-1714 or 888-852-6560
See the Purple Haze Lavender Web Cam and watch the lavender grow!
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We invite you to the "Purple Haze Lavender Experience"
on our 12 acre Certified Organic farm....envelop your senses in rows and rows of lavender, Pacific Northwest inspired cuisine,5 yummy flavors of lavender ice-cream, an assortment of live entertainment, over 25 unique local artisans, 16 varieties of lavender plants and our charming gift shop filled with our own line ofPurple Haze culinary, home andbodyproducts.
Farm Activities
This is the schedule for 2009. The 2010 schedule will update in June.
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. U-Pick Lavender
10 a.m. – 6 p.m Silk Scarf Painting deimonstration with artist
Renne Brock-Richmond
10 a.m. – 6 p.m Weave your own lavender wall hanging with weavers
Dixie Mc Andrews & Susan Kroll
11 a.m. & 3 p.m. Meet the
Farmer, Mike Reichner
Friday
12 p.m. Propagation
and Planting Lavender (Victor Gonzales)
1 p.m. Lavender Oil Distillation Demonstration
4 p.m. Propagation and Planting Lavender (Victor Gonzales)
10 a.m. Propagation
and Planting Lavender (Victor Gonzales)
11 a.m. Lavender Oil
Distillation Demonstration
1 p.m. Propagation and Planting Lavender (Victor Gonzales)
5 p.m. Propagation
and Planting Lavender (Victor Gonzales)
11:30 a.m. Culinary program presentation - Come and watch Chef
Dave Long create a gourmet sauce incorporating Purple Haze's own Herbs de Provence Mustard
12 p.m. Propagation
and Planting Lavender (Victor Gonzales)
1 p.m. Distillation
Demonstration
4 p.m. Propagation
and Planting Lavender (Victor Gonzales)
Festival Food
Once again, Oven Spoonful will fire up their grill for wild salmon and chicken (marinated in Purple Haze Herbs-de-Provence) plus Polish dogs. Other items on their menu include a local cheese plate, organic greens with Purple Haze salad dressing, baked beans, corn on the cob, brownies, and lavender lemonade. For alcoholic refreshments, the Bushwhacker Restaurant will be mixing up lavender margaritas, lavender vodka kamikazis, lavender gin and tonic, cold beer and wine.
11:30 a.m. TBA
1:30 p.m. The Road
Men-Standards
2:30 p.m. Duke of
Dabob-Dixieland Jazz
4:30 p.m. Geoffrey Castle-Electric
Violin
12:00 p.m. Tyler
Spencer-Didgeridoo
1:00 p.m. The Road
Men-Standards
2:00 p.m. Sequim Marimba
Band
3:30 p.m. TBA
4:30 p.m. Geoffrey
Castle-Electric Violin
12:00 p.m. Jake Reichner-
1:00 p.m. Hot Club
Sandwich-Jazz Band
2:00 p.m. Dukes of
Dabob-Dixieland Jazz
4:00 p.m. Geoffery
Castle-Electric Violin
Aglow Spa, Barbara
Doolittle, Bell Bottom Beverages, Bowerman Basin Limited,
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A Decade of Lavender Living
Story by Betty Oppenheimer
It’s been 12 years since Mike and Jadyne Reichner planted their first Grosso and Provence lavender starts. Back then, no one was certain that Sequim’s lavender vision would come to fruition, but Mike was one of its most ardent advocates. Known for his unabashed and enthusiastic marketing of lavender, Mike, now sole owner of Purple Haze Lavender, continues to build on successes in the farm’s welcoming atmosphere and beauty, quality reputation, innovative product line and volume distribution channels.
A retired state park ranger, Mike sculpted the original 2.5 acre lot into one of the first agri-tourist farms in Sequim, creating demonstration gardens, an orchard, pond, seating areas, and out buildings, including the drying shed.
“I remember the first summer, selling the first bundles of lavender off our porch,” he said. The farm has gained worldwide recognition since those days. “My motivation is the feedback we receive. People come here and say ‘I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.’ I love hearing that,” he said.
Surprisingly, Mike says that despite his far-flung, often successful marketing efforts (all the way to La Ribera on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, where he spends his winters), “the single most mentioned way people hear about us is word of mouth from friends and family. It’s even bigger than the Internet. It’s critical that we maintain this hands-on approach, as people visit the farm. We always treat everyone like they’re the first person who has ever visited here. They’re each special.”
Of course, in addition to word of mouth, Purple Haze sends out monthly specials by email to thousands of previous visitors to the farm and to the website. This simple effort, said Mike, brings in many, many monthly orders, for products which are on sale, and for other items in inventory. And every month, the e-mail list grows.
Mike hasn’t done anything about Purple Haze in a small way – in business or in farming. In 1999 – the year that lavender was names Herb of the Year by the International Herb Associations - he managed to land Purple Haze products, including their signature lavender salad dressing, into QFC stores, and interested the Herb Growing and Marketing Network to hold its annual conference in Sequim, with a focus on lavender. In 2001, the farm was awarded a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant to study the benefits of oyster shells as reflective mulch for lavender plants and that fall, they opened a retail store at 127 W. Washington Street. There, Purple Haze offers year round sales and shipping of Internet orders all over the world.
Reichner’s “anchors” are general manager Vickie Oen and farm manager Jose Franco. Oen manages the inventory, store and shipping to the several thousand wholesale accounts that Purple Haze serves, while Jose cares for the 40,000 plants on 10 acres of rolling Sequim hillside.
“Jose’s been with me longer than anyone. He’s like a son to me,” said Reichner.
Now, having been hailed in national magazines including Forbes, Seattle Homes and Lifestyles and Adventures, welcomed as an expert on lavender farming across the country, and with a farm recognized by thousands as a destination, Reichner is contending with rampant residential growth around the 10 acre lavender farm.
“I want this to be a farm forever – I will maintain my integrity. This will be a farm forever,” he said. “It’s big, it has flowing contours. I’ve always thought of it as my canvas.”
As far as Reichner is concerned, the business is maturing as it begins its second decade. This year’s new products include shade grown, lavender infused coffee beans, and chocolate bars that continue the farm’s play on Jimi Hendrix’ Purple Haze theme. The Chocolate Experience is a milk chocolate bar, and the Flashback Bar is dark chocolate. Both are infused with organic lavender oil.
His latest venture will be selling gift baskets through Costco.com.
“This new adventure is a very steep growth curve,” he said.