Now if you have followed me for any length of time you know that I 100% believe in the power of lavender oil, but I must say now I am officially in LOVE! I had the opportunity to tour, and harvest my own bunch of lavender from
the B&B Family Lavender Farm in Sequim, Washington. For those of you who don't know (I had no idea!) Sequim is commonly called the lavender capital of North America. Sequim is located at the base of the Olympic Mountains and receives very little rain and plenty of sunshine which makes for optimal lavender growing. Thanks to Bruce, owner and tour guide for the day, I gained an enormous amount of information!
On the tour I learned that all of the lavender at B&B Family Lavender Farm is harvested by hand. Immediately after harvest it is then hung upside down in the barn to dry. The drying process takes approximately three weeks. From there, the plant may be sold as is, cleaned and used for a variety of different products, or used in the still to brew up a batch of Lavender Essential Oil. Can you believe that it can take up to three pounds of lavender to fill one 15ml bottle?!
After learning about the lavender plant, and all of the long hours that go into maintenance of the fields, harvest, and creation of different products, I have a greater appreciation for all things lavender. It is always a great day when you get to see exactly where your favorite products come from, and understand the process from start to finish. I am excited to be utilizing lavender essential oil from B&B Family Lavender Farm during my massage therapy sessions.
Recap of a few of the things that I learned!
-All the lavender at B&B Family Lavender Farm is harvested by hand
-There are hundreds of varieties of lavender
-English lavender can be used for cooking
-French lavender is used in making scented items such as sachets, eye pillows, essential oil
-It takes approximately three weeks to dry the lavender plant
Ways to use lavender...
-Hang the dried flowers in your home for decoration
-Diffuse lavender essential oil to reduce stress
-Rub a drop of diluted lavender essential oil on the back of neck when suffering from allergies
-Diffuse lavender essential oil to help reduce headaches
-Home made lavender lemonade
-Lavender shortbread cookies
Thanks for reading!
-Alex