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Lavender Festival in Blanco, Texas
On Saturday, June 13th, my wife and I visited the small Hill Country town of Blanco to enjoy the brutal heat and the celebration of lavender. We began our discovery of Blanco by visiting the old courthouse square and all of the booths set up selling just about anything you could think of buying.
After a refreshing lavender lemonade and seeing several artisans at work, we decided to get back into our air conditioned car and visit some of the lavender farms in the area. The first farm we visited was the Heron’s Nest Herb Farm. There, Melanie and Fred Van Aken showed off their farm to us and others. Fred spoke about his rainwater collection system that provides water for both his large garden and the gardens around his home. He also uses a solar-powered pump to provide the energy to move water through his drip system. Then, he spoke about the organic solutions needed to successfully raise his lavenders.
We moved on to the next farm on our listing, the Hill County Lavender farm with Tasha Brieger. Tasha spoke extensively about everything you would ever need to know about farming lavender. She has at least two different French lavenders and three different English lavenders available on her farm. Lots of folks were there taking scissors and making their own bunches of lavender flowers to take home.
The next farm we visited was Karen and Don Roets’ Miller Creek Lavender farm. Don greeted everyone at the parking area reminding us to sample the lavender margaritas at the store! The great part about this farm was the Texas Master Gardener who was available to talk about how to plant and maintain your lavender. She spoke to folks from the Hill Country, North Texas, and the Gulf Coast about the specific needs of these plants. Here, we also learned the differences between culinary and presentation lavenders. It was really cool to see another Master Gardener who was helping to educate the public about these wonderful plants.
After this farm, we returned to the courthouse square to enjoy local wines, beers, jellies, jams, and other great food items. The live music was wonderful and the local population was working hard to make sure all the visitors were having a great time. We even ran into another Master Gardener who was taking a well-earned rest. What a great place to be a Master Gardener!
I’m looking forward to visiting Blanco again. For sure during the next Lavender Festival but probably even before. I had a great time and came back with six different lavender plants, two different jams, souvenir cups, a new hat, and great memories!
3 Responses to “Lavender Festival in Blanco, Texas”
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4 August 2009 at 15:18
Love those road trips! In July, I had the pleasure of visiting Lavender Wind Farm on Whidbey Island, WA, a short road and ferry trip from Seattle. What an extensive area of blooming lavender fields and a fabulous view of the Olympic Mountains across the water! One might think it could be too wet to grow lavender there, but Whidbey Island is in the Olympic Rain Shadow, receiving less than 20 inches of rain a year and sustaining lots of wind and sunshine. After walking the fields, sampling lavender chocolate chip scones, and knowing the packing limitations for the return flight, not to mention my previous lack of success growing lavender in FB County, no lavender plants were purchased. But I did succumb to buying a few 3 inch chocolate plants from the Chocolate Flower Farm in Langley on the southern end of the island. Another great place to visit - beautiful gardens and lots of chocolate-related plants for sale. Meerkerk Gardens (especially known for its spring-blooming rhodies) is also on Whidbey, but we didn’t get there before the 4 pm closing. Yes, 4 pm. Great gardens, good food, numerous restful places to enjoy the spectacular scenery - Whidbey Island definitely earns a gardener’s thumbs up!
4 August 2009 at 15:40
Wow, I loved Whidbey Island when I visited there in 1992! That was during my Navy years and gardening wasn’t too much on my radar then. I did love the view and the food was terrific.
You have just given me a very good reason to head back to Washington and check Whidbey Island out.
By the way, one of my lavender plants has survived the extreme heat here in Fort Bend so far. Another is alive and kicking in my wife’s office. The other four have turned grey, dry, and don’t look like survivors.
4 August 2009 at 20:06
One tip the owner of Lavender Wind Farm gave to my daughter when she bought her lavender plants was to use lots of extra perlite to aerate and improve the drainage of soilless mixes in her containers. Of course the climate of the Northwest makes it almost foolproof to grow this Mediterranean plant in their landscapes. I hear that lavender doesn’t care for enriched soil either.
Hopefully, your two remaining plants will flourish! And I hope you get back to Whidbey soon to experience it this time from a gardener’s perspective.