Sometimes the place you thought was your place isn’t your place after all. That "awesome barn" farm we fell in love with? Well...it came with an equally cool log house -- but one which would have taken a LOT of time and a LOT of money to make it what we wanted. Which would have meant a lot less time and money for growing lavender. And that’s what I want to do.
So we said goodbye to that place and grabbed onto a different, more realistic, equally exciting one. This new place also has land (though not as much), and a barn (though not a cool old wooden one)-- but it also has a house that has big windows to a big view, a perfectly sloped, open field for growing lavender, a greenhouse (!), a guest apartment, two goats, one chicken, and lots of fruit trees. A move-in ready farm! On top of that, it is surrounded by wineries and the beautiful red hills of Dundee. And, most importantly, it was “Mom-approved.” So we close escrow in a few days and I can hardly wait to move in.
So we said goodbye to that place and grabbed onto a different, more realistic, equally exciting one. This new place also has land (though not as much), and a barn (though not a cool old wooden one)-- but it also has a house that has big windows to a big view, a perfectly sloped, open field for growing lavender, a greenhouse (!), a guest apartment, two goats, one chicken, and lots of fruit trees. A move-in ready farm! On top of that, it is surrounded by wineries and the beautiful red hills of Dundee. And, most importantly, it was “Mom-approved.” So we close escrow in a few days and I can hardly wait to move in.
We’ve already been tractor-shopping (including a “test-drive”), I’ve got my Burpee catalog seed choices circled and ready to order, I’m learning about greenhouse gardening, and I’ve been reading up on goats -- but I still don’t quite know what varieties of lavender to plant. With over 450 different varieties to choose from, the decisions become a little tougher, so I nerded out earlier today and created a lavender chart, which actually really helped. Now I’ve got my choices for 3 of our 4 fields narrowed down: Grosso (long stems, great for sachets), Royal Velvet (good for culinary and cutting), Buena Vista (blooms continuously and good for culinary). But I’m still working on that fourth choice: Sharon Roberts? Purple Bouquet? Hidcote Giant? Should I throw some white or pink in there? Do I want more culinary? So many things to consider and so many interesting varieties out there -- but I guess I could always incorporate a few into the herb garden and see how they do. So as soon as we close on this house, I am ordering my lavender plugs from Mountain Valley Growers and the lavender fun will begin. If I’m lucky, I will have at least a little lavender by the end of summer.
I am so ready!
I am so ready!
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