Lavender Q&A for 2024
Don't you just love the lavender(see photos) at the Abbey in France? I was there a few years ago to learn all I could about lavender and talked with several of the lavender growers in Provence area of France - the Lavender capital! I learned so much about lavender and distilling the lavenders. Now I can enjoy bring that atmosphere and love of lavender here at our farm, so visitors do not have to travel across the ocean.
I'm starting to get many questions about lavender. It's that time of year when people start thinking of lavender with our blackberry winter days feeling like spring as sprung.
Lavender Q & A
When does Lavender bloom here in Georgia? Like most flowers, but especially lavender being a Mediterranean plant prefers warm temperatures. So the best time to see lavender in bloom here at the farm is June. Then we must harvest it at just the right moment, usually the very end of June and first part of July. We then hang it up to dry and distill to make our products and sell our bundles.
Do you sell fresh lavender? We only have fresh lavender bundles for sell during harvest time the end of June. So fresh lavender only being able to purchase once a year is more expensive than dry lavender.
Fresh lavender is only good and fresh for a few days and then starts drying out. Lavender will only look good in a vase for a few days. If you want the lavender in a vase be sure to only add a few inches of water to the vase.
As the northern states get warmer you can find lavender blooming further north. Washington state and NY lavender blooms in July. And then you can find the Southern Hemisphere the lavender blooms during winter. As they say each flower has their own bloom time.
Do you have fresh lavender for weddings? We will have fresh lavender during our harvest time - end of June and first part of July only. But what most people know is that lavender droops after cutting. So dried lavender is best for photos and wedding bouquets. This is why lavender is hung upside down once harvested to dry straight and not have the droop.
When do you have lavender plants for sale? We have lots of lavender for purchasing from April 20th through till mid June or until they sell out. This is the correct time to plant lavenders. Once the weather gets too warm it's just too hot for the baby lavenders. Too early in the year the ground is too cold. Lavender was not suppose to be grown in Georgia until we started to plant our lavenders and through trial and error. All the lavender plants we sell have done well in Georgia.
We have class you can attend to learn how to plant lavender and have them survive in our climate. The class for regular gardener is called Plant n' Take Workshop and we even have an Lavender Academy Workshop for people that want to create their own lavender farm and plant lavender at a larger scale where we get into irrigation, planting rows of lavender, business aspect of lavender business. These classes have saved people a lot of money and sweat and tears of planting lavender and keeping them alive. You too can enjoy the beauty and aroma of lavender in your gardens.
Do you offer Lavender You-Pick? Yes, you can pick your own lavender bouquet with a pre-purchase ticket. We begin to sell the tickets for our You-Pick Lavender in May to pick in June. We do limit how many tickets we sell, so that the you-pick field is not over crowded. We offer the link to purchase your ticket for this even on our website and a link will be provided on our Facebook page once the tickets become. available in May. Price to you-pick lavender will be 12.00 per bundle of 50 stems. There is also a parking fee of 5.00 per car (of 4 people) during June through August. Parking is available in the circle drive with extra parking at our next property in front of the trailer. There will be a black box at the beginning of the entrance to pay your parking fee if you have cash and another black box by the trailer parking area. If you do not have exact cash you may go inside the shop to pay. We also accept credit cards. There is no admission to enter the farm.
Please stay in the You-Pick Lavender field area while cutting your lavender and caring the basket we have provided. Do not wonder to any other field of lavender with your basket, since baskets are limited and will need them for the other visitors that have purchased you-pick tickets. Please feel free to wander the farm after you have finished cutting your lavender bouquet and handed in your basket and scissors to the amendment in the you-pick area. We only cut lavender in the one specific you-pick field to allow the other lavender fields to be enjoyed to take photos. You are welcome to take cell phots while at the farm, but we do not allow photographers to do minis or portrait photos at the farm. This way all visitors can enjoy the day at the farm. We do have our farm photographer - Melissa Giles - that you may contact and reserve time with her to take your photos during closed hours at the farm.
All You-Pick Lavender tickets are sold as is, meaning we cannot switch your time or give refunds. We are just so busy in the field taking care of all the lavender and flowers, and making products or teaching classes we just don't have the extra time. So be sure to plan according to your schedule and when we have our You-Pick Lavender schedule. You are however allowed to give your tickets to a friend or relative or sell yourself, but you cannot sell your tickets on any of our social media pages. All You-pick times are rain or shine, since we will have tents in the you-pick field in case of rain and to also provide shade. Thank you so much for understanding.
Please dress accordingly to being outside in summer heat and wear closed toe shoes, since we have fields of grass and terrain can change. We also have honey bees and bumble bees, both love our lavender, flowers, and even the clover that grows in our grass.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the lavender farm this year. The shop is open from February 7th through till mid December for all your lavender product needs. You can't get fresher from field to product made in small batches to provide the best quality of lavender products possible. Shop hours are Wednesday - Friday 11-3, Saturday 10-4, and Sunday 1-4. See you soon!
Tina and David Duffey, owners
 at the Abbey in France? I was there a few years ago to learn all I could about lavender and talked with several of the lavender growers in Provence area of France - the Lavender capital! I lea...&media=//redoaklavender.com/cdn/shop/articles/IMG_1039_600x.jpg?v=1707402587){kind=link}