Tag Archives: Lavender Farms

Signs, signs!

Signs encountered in the month of July traveling and taking company sight seeing in Seattle!

From the Bill and Melinda Gates visitor center in Seattle.

Tourist happenings in downtown Seattle.

A classic car wash in downtown Seattle!

And then outside of Seattle to the very northwestern edge of the contiguous United States, Dear and I had a little getaway to the Olympic Peninsula.

At the Cape Flattery Trail head.

Later this week or early next week I’ll share the beautiful views of Cape Flattery and the lighthouse.

While on the Olympic Peninsula we also stopped at some beautiful lavender farms in Sequim, Washington. This Grosso lavender is a full fluffy variety. I’ll be sharing a post of the lavender farms we visited later, too.

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Not a real clear photo through our windshield but this bumper sticker made me smile on our way back to the ferry that would bring us home from our adventure. Homer Alaska A Quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem.!

I’m adding this post to signs, signs by Lesley! Thanks Lesley!

 

Snowshill ~ Cotswolds

Sat. July 5-Chipping Campden 029The road from Chipping Campden to Snowshill took us along little lanes bordered by rock walls and hedges. We were able to find a nice parking lot between the village and the National Trust property.

Sat. July 5-Chipping Campden 035A Fete was going on in the village center and some locals recommended that we go there before going to Snowshill Manor and Gardens which is a National Trust Property. Because we took that advice we missed the last opening for viewing the Manor House but we were still able to walk about the gardens.

Sat. July 5-Chipping Campden 039The church was in the very center of the village and on a high point of the village.

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Sat. July 5-Chipping Campden 047The walk from the National Trust Manor property entrance to the Manor had some beautiful vistas to enjoy.

Sat. July 5-Chipping Campden 052The Manor grounds are beautifully landscaped.

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Sat. July 5-Chipping Campden 063This is a view of the back of the Manor.

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Sat. July 5-Chipping Campden 079On our way back to our cottage we stopped at the beautiful fields of lavender.

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Sat. July 5-Chipping Campden 085Our visit to Snowshill ended our first Saturday in England and our first full day in the Cotswolds. On Sunday we had plans to take a little trip out of the Cotswolds to “see a fine lady upon a white horse”.

 

Across the Sound…

…to the Kitsap Peninsula.

 

The Friday before my company arrived I headed out early all by myself to the Lavender Festival in Sequim, Washington. Sequim is pronounced Skwim, one syllable. I crossed the Sound on a ferry from Edmonds to Kingston on the Kitsap Peninsula. It took me an hour to drive to Sequim from the ferry landing. I crossed another body of water, the Hood Canal, to the Olympic Peninsula and finally arrived in Sequim which sits along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Dungeness Spit is close by which boasts home to the very popular Dungeness Crab. This part of the Olympic Peninsula has perfect weather to grow lavender and every year the third weekend of July is set aside for the Lavender Festival.

 

The first farm I stopped at was Jardin du Soleil. I arrived here before the official opening but was still welcomed to stroll about the farm.

 

“ladies fair, I bring to you
lavender with spikes of blue;
sweeter plant was never found
growing on our english ground.”

Caryl Battersby

 

 

The second farm I stopped at was Purple Haze Lavender Farm. This one was my favorite.

 

“lavender, sweet lavender;
come and buy my lavender,
hide it in your trousseau, lady fair.
Let its lovely fragrance flow
Over you from head to toe,
lightening on your eyes, your cheek, your hair.”

Cumberkand Clark Flower Song Book 1929

 

“here’s your sweet lavender
sixteen sprigs a penny
that you’ll find my ladies
will smell as sweet as any”

Lavender Sellers’s Cry, London England CA 1900

Each farm had food vendors offering some good eats and this farm even had some creative hard drinks for sale. I tried one and some of you will be able to guess which one I tried.

 

 

 

There were other flowers besides lavender to enjoy.

 

Before I headed to 2 more farms on my way back home I stopped at the street fair for a pulled pork sandwich and while I ate I listened to Cisco, a Northwest gardening expert.

 

Cedarbrook Lavender and Herb Farm was in a nice setting and has a Garden Cafe Restaurant on the premises.

 

 

 

 

Sunshine Herb & Lavender Farm was the last farm I stopped at. It was right on the highway and was my least favorite. There were lots of interesting things to see here besides lavender, though, like this little one…

 

Every farm had a U-Pick section of their farm where you could come away with a nice bouquet of lavender for $5.

It really is worth the trip to enjoy this heady lavender experience if you ever find yourself in Washington the third weekend in July!

 

Sequim ~ The Lavender Capital of North America

I’m adding this to Outdoor Wednesday with Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.  Click on her link to see the Outdoors around the world.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Lavender Farms Yard Art!

I’m way behind on showing you some of God’s wonders I’ve seen around the Pacific Northwest. I’ll be catching up soon but today I’m joining Mary again at The Work of the Poet for Yard Art on Thursday. All of these were taken at the Lavender Festival in Sequim at the various lavender farms that were open to the public. I guess technically I’d have to call this “Farm Art”.

 

 

 

 

Old farm equipment was used a lot for added visual interest on the farms.

Tonight the last of our Southern California visitors fly in for an extended weekend. Tomorrow the ladies are going to a lavender farm north of us. The guys might take in some canoeing on Lake Washington. Tomorrow night we have reservations for 16 at Olive You to celebrate my sister’s birthday. The fun times just keep rolling along here. Hope all is well with all of you.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.