Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Sequim Lavender Weekend and Festival 2023
They call themselves the Lavender Capital of North America and who can dispute it? – there are 18 lavender farms in the Dungeness Sequim Valley.
“The lavender fields in Sequim have been blooming since the mid-1990s. The first fields were planted after a sub-committee of the Chamber of Commerce began looking for a new crop to preserve farmlands. They wanted to inspire visitors to the area and discovered that lavender would thrive in the Mediterranean type conditions found in the Sequim Dungeness Valley. Due to a rain shadow created by the Olympic Mountains, Sequim’s annual average rainfall is 16”. This makes it one of the driest places in western Washington and perfect for a sustainable lavender crop.”
Olympic Peninsula.org
I’ve been to my favorite farms many times over the past 20 years or so – during the festival and not -including B & B, Jardin du Soleil, and Purple Haze.
But this year we visited some smaller farms on the circuit, none of which required an entrance fee.
Gray Marsh Berry Farm and Lavender
Our first stop was at Gray Marsh, perhaps my favorite of the day. Here I bought a large bouquet of freshly cut lavender and I’m still enjoying the fragrance today as it dries.
In addition to the lavender and berry fields on the property, I also enjoyed the sunflowers, especially since I don’t have any in my garden.
Fat Cat Garden and Gifts
I never did see a fat cat, but I loved the shop and cottage garden out front –
and lavender fields in back.
Kitty B’s Lavender Farm
The owner of the house greeted us and told us he and his wife purchased the farm five years ago as their dream, retirement project; well, her dream, his project.
There was so much lavender to enjoy in the fields behind the house.
Olympic Bluffs Lavender Farm and Cidery
The reason for the name was apparent as we walked to the bluff overlooking the bay.
The mansion next door used to be its own lavender farm but is now a boutique hotel and grounds are closed to the general public. (Maybe we’ll stay there some day.)
The Olympic Mountains provided the other backdrop behind the farm. I’m not sure where the Cidery was, but I’m thinking this is a fairly new venture.
Meli’s Lavender
Perhaps the smallest and most homespun of the farms we visited, in a residential neighborhood in Sequim, Meli’s had its own charms.
After visiting the farms, we headed to the Street Fair where I managed to make a few more lavender themed purchases – lavender cream, lip balm, honey and essential oil.
And while I loved visiting some new farms, I have to admit Purple Haze is still my favorite, though perhaps I just love the name.
And that’s enough lavender for today.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Amazing and very beautiful, Susanne! ❤️
Thank you, John. 😊
You’re very welcome! 😊
Thank you Susanne, for this beautiful journey.
Thanks so much, Don! Hope you got a bit of the fragrance, too!
Yes. What an aroma.
The lavender fields are gorgeous and I love the sunflowers! Great photos. Thanks for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you. 🙂
Beautiful photos..Sequim is as isolated as you can be yet has spectacular weather compared to the area around it – what a unique place!
Thanks, John! Yes, indeed. A wonderful community in the sunbelt, surrounded by mountains and water! And of course, lavender!
Thanks for the tour and all the photos!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Lovely photos 🙂 Daddy took Mom & Grand Mom there a couple different years on our way salmon fishing in Westport after visiting relatives in Port Angles in the 1960’s Thank for sharing 🐾
Glad you enjoyed the visit! Probably no lavender in the area at the time but still very beautiful.
There must have been Lavender there back then that is why Grandma Jo wanted to go to Sequim !
Okay maybe there were some then too. They said they replaced many of the dairy farms with lavender back in the nineties.
Well Grandma grew up on dairy farm in Wisconsin in the early 1900’s so maybe that’s why she wanted to go there my memory from 60 yrs ago gets a little fuzzy. Thanks for chating with me though 🙂
😊😊
A delightful trip, very nicely documented. The Mansion/Hotel looks lovely. I would want to stay there too. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. We love going to Sequim to enjoy the lavender. Here’s a link to the Inn – pricey, but would be nice for a special occasion.
https://www.georgewashingtoninn.com/washington-lavender
The rooms look lovely. Maybe if I win the lottery I will stay there, and do a whale-watching trip. 🙂
Sounds like a good plan! 😄😊
Wow, gorgeous scenes! I’d love a stay at the hotel at Olympic Bluffs and your final shot is especially stunning among a load of other great lavender images 😮
Thanks so much, Sarah! Glad you enjoyed the pictures! Here’s a link to the Inn, pricey but would be fun to stay for a special occasion. https://www.georgewashingtoninn.com/washington-lavender
Glad you had a good time there. I didn’t realize that the lavender farms were such a recent introduction, and I lived in Port Townsend back then!
Interesting! I must have started attending soon after it became a thing..
Gorgeous all around.
Thank you. 🙂