Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Visiting the B & B Lavender Farm in Sequim
I LOVE lavender and have been growing it in my garden for the last 20 years, almost as long as the farms in Sequim, the self proclaimed lavender capital of North America. Located in the sunbelt of the Olympic Peninsula, the little town transformed itself into a lavender mecca in the mid 1990’s when it started converting old dairy farms into lavender farms. There are now dozens of farms in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley and by mid-July the annual Lavender Festival is a top attraction.
Yes, it was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid and was limited in 2021. But most of the farms remain open for visitors so we stopped by last week on our trip to the Peninsula.
I have my favorite farm (Purple Haze) but this time we decided to stop at a new one (to us) – B & B Farms.
I’m so glad we did. Because in addition to enjoying the lavender in the fields we got an informative tour from the owners.
First they gave us an easy way to remember the difference between English Lavender and French Lavender – they grow both.
French Lavender = F = Fragrance. The larger plant, with the stronger scent due to naturally occurring camphor. Better for crafts, sachets, soaps. The first photo above is of French Lavender the earliest planted at B & B, 25 years ago.
English Lavender = E = Eat. The culinary variety. A smaller more compact plant, but brighter in color, with a sweeter fragrance. Best for cooking. The second photo above is of English Lavender.
Inside their large barn we saw bundles of lavender drying from the rafters.
Some are sold as bundles, while others are reduced to buds. After being removed from the stems (yes, there’s a machine for that too) they’re cleaned in the Jitter Bud, below.
There’s also a still for extracting the essential oils and producing lavender water as a byproduct.
It was quite wonderful and I may have a new favorite farm.
And to show my appreciation for the tour I was compelled to buy some lavender products including this adorable little bear, lovingly filled with lavender grown at B & B.
One little squeeze and I’m transported back to the lavender fields. I wish could have bought one for all of you. 🙂
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
We have something similar not far from Beetley. Most years, we try to get up there during the peak season, but have missed out in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
https://norfolk-lavender.co.uk/
Best wishes, Pete.
Looks wonderful Pete! I’d be there often! We manage a trip to Sequim most years and always visit at least one of the farms. The lavender festival includes extra special farm tours, a street fair and other activities but there was nothing like that the last 2 years due to covid. There were only a handful of people at B & B on the weekday we were there.
The lavender fields look so beautiful and the scent must have been amazing! Cute little bear too 🙂
It was wonderful! Thank you. 😊💜
I love lavender farms and that looks amazing!
There are so many to choose from in Sequim! We really enjoyed B&B. 😊
Sure looks like a nice place to visit.
Thanks! We love visiting the Sequim lavender farms and it was great getting a tour at B & B.
What a fun tour! And the teddy bear is so cute! Thanks for sharing the great photos as well!
Thanks so much! It was a short tour but I learned a lot! And I’m so glad I got that little teddy bear – so soft and fragrant! 🙂
So beautiful! thanks for sharing this magical place!
Thanks so much John! If you make it to the Olympic Peninsula during the summer months you’ll have to include the lavender farms in Sequim on your itinerary! 🙂
Thank you for posting your lovely photos – that’s about as close as I personally can get to lavender! We have some amazing lavender farms nearby here in western Oregon, and those farms get together annually to host a free “plein air painting day” for artists! I quickly learned, unfortunately, that only the amazing colors of the different lavender varieties are what I am able to appreciate. Sadly I’m one of the approx. 5% of people who perceive the fragrance of lavender as acrid, unpleasant and migraine-causing, which also happens with culinary herbs like cilantro (we who have this problem agree cilantro tastes like laundry soap smells!). I envy you the total experience and very much enjoyed the great photography – I can appreciate the lavender without the associated fragrance!
Thanks for your comment. 🙂 I’m sorry you can’t enjoy the fragrance of lavender. Is it true of all varieties? I didn’t know it could cause migraines in some folks. It’s one of my favorite herbs/flowers and I find the scent very relaxing and enjoy it especially in bath oils, candles and soaps, I’m glad you can at least enjoy the pictures! 🙂
It causes a headache in me but I am ok with cilantro. I do love your photos though and think it is neat to see the inside of how the farm works and harvests. That shot of the lavender driving in the barn is amazing!
Thank you! I’ve visited many different lavender farms in Sequim but I learned the most at this farm. Sorry you can’t enjoy the fragrance but the mass of color is wonderful too!