Come on Spring!





OK, I understand Garrett County gets lots of snow - over 166 inches per year with the current high of 262 inches achieved just a few years ago, but enough already.  This lavender farm owner needs a little green in her life.  The warm temps last week were such a tease but it did kick me into high gear to think of the new products to make and to resupply our wonderful standard products of lavender lotions, lavender lotion bars, closet sachets, lavender and flaxseed filled heating pads and wraps, and so much more.

We are excited for future plans for the farm - chickens, honey bees (ours died last fall so we are trying again), and gardens galore.  We've gotten our on-farm licensing plan for selling lavender food jams, jellies, salts, cookies and other wonderful things into the state of Maryland and had our first review (with the hoops farmers have to jump through I understand why so many don't go this route, but our customers health and safety is a priority).

Future plans include a distiller for lavender essential oil. Until we are able to purchase one we will be sharing the oils other member farms of the US Lavender Growers Association (USLGA) have distilled.  So many, many uses for lavender and lavender essential oil.... but that is for another day...another blog post....

 

Perfect Salad Dressing for Fresh Summer Greens

Fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and more are so plentiful now, so I thought I would share a vinaigrette recipe that was served at the Taste of Garrett County and made with culinary lavender from Deep Creek Lavender Farm.  The recipe is from Rita on Food.com.  I adjusted the amount of honey as I like a tangier dressing but it is delicious and very light on fresh lettuce from the garden or as a marinade for chicken or fish. 

Lavender and Honey Salad Dressing

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
• 1 garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon coarse grain mustard
• 1/4 cup honey (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender (1 tablespoon fresh)
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seed (optional)
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients together.
2. Stand for 30 mins to allow flavors to infuse.
3. Stir and adjust salt and pepper again and serve

I added some feta cheese to the salad and the saltiness of the cheese with the sweet and tangy flavor of this dressing was amazing!



Shades of Purple

It amazes me the colors in this beautiful world we live.  The various shades of green after a summer rain, the colors in a vegetable garden when everything begins to ripen, the various shades of color of the different hummingbirds at my feeder, but some of my favorite are the beautiful colors of Hidcote and Folgate Lavenders at harvest.  Oh my, the shade of purples are amazing and these cultivars hold their color when dried.  There are so many beautiful lavenders but for some reason these two are just fun to grown and harvest. 

This picture just can't do it justice.  The scent is amazing - definitely need a scratch and sniff button on this blog. The Folgate, the lighter shade laying on top, has the softest, sweetest scent this year.  I just love it.  The Hidcote is so rich and purple in color it just makes me smile.  The Gross isn't quite ready to harvest yet, but that, too, is an amazing color this year.  More pics to come.

The Taste of Garrett County, to be held June 18th, is a major fundraiser for Garrett Trails. Patrons can immerse themselves in special cooking demonstrations from some of the area’s best chefs. The event offers prizes and raffles, live entertainment and delicious new offerings and classic favorites from Garrett County's most popular dining establishments and local farms.  This year Deep Creek Lavender Farm is providing a Lavender Honey Salad Dressing to be served on locally grown salad greens - YUM!  Here is the recipe we are using courtesy of Rita on Food.com:

Lavender Honey Salad Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced sweet onions
• 1 garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon coarse grain mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender ( 1 tablespoon fresh)
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
• salt & pepper

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients together.
2. Stand for 30 mins to allow flavors to infuse.
3. Stir and adjust salt and pepper again and serve. 

This is a delicious vinaigrette, but I think I will decrease the honey a bit as I like a bit more tang.  I also will steep the lavender buds ahead of time in one of the liquids and add the flavor that way.  Many folks like the flavor of the lavender but don't like to munch on the buds.  I am excited to be part of this great fundraiser.  It is so great to be included as a working farm in Garrett County. 

Neither heat nor surgery can keep us down!

My dear sister, Mary, lends a hand at the farm.  Here planting Fred Boutin.

We are well on our way to having a new front field full of lavender at the farm.  Over Memorial Day in the heat and humidity you find in the summers of MD we planted 500 new lavender plants some angustifolias and some hybrids including Buena Vista, Royal Velvet, Grosso, Fat Spike Gross, Folgate, Hidcote, Sharon Roberts, and the pink culinary lavender called Mellisa. 

Fungus or winter damage?

This year has been so hard on the older plants on the farm.  The mid-Atlantic experienced such a mild winter that the lavender started into growing phase in February when it was warm and then that new growth was challenged when it returned to winter weather in late March and April.  Deep Creek Lavender was not the only farm to feel the impact.  I believe some may be infected with a fungus.  Some lavender grow up from the center and those will probably recover once the dead part is removed but the angustifolias may not fair so well....time will tell.

The weather has played havoc with bloom dates of lavender across the United States.  In the Midwest many farms are done with harvest while those in the West state they are about three weeks behind.  Nature has its own plan.  So far the Hidcotes are blooming but the Grosso won't be in bloom for several weeks.  That is OK with us as it spread things out a little for us.  I just had foot surgery so the later the harvest the better for me. 



Sexy boot that will be my appendage for six weeks. 



On my safari book shelf on the right, I've will be adding a new book available in April that is written by the propagator of my plants and the owner of Lavender at Stonegate Farm in Oregon, Sarah Berringer Bader.  The 'Lavender Lover's Handbook' focuses on the best varieties for cooking, crafting and growing.  This beginner's guide assists the grower by explaining the color, fragrance, size, and foliage of each plant, in addition to basic pruning, spacing, and planting requirements.
We in the lavender growing community are excited for the release of this book on our favorite herb.  Sarah is an amazing business woman and very generous with her time and knowledge.  Until I can get a few copies, you can purchase from Sarah at the Lavender at Stonegate website.

Well it is nearly official.  The US Lavender Growers Association hopes to begin accepting membership within the next few months.  The Dues and Membership guidelines have been worked out and now the Policy and Procedures and Vision and Goals are being formalized.  It won't be long until we have a national organization whose mission is 'to support and promote the United States lavender industry through research, education, networking and marketing'.  Many fine people have been working hard to make this organization a true asset to all of those growers, researchers, retailers, manufacturers and marketers of lavender and lavender products in the United States.  Follow the progress on Facebook, www.facebook.com/uslavender or at the website http://www.uslavender.org./

I know on Valentines Day the color of love seems to be red, but not for us lavender folks, the color of love is, what else, lavender.  Happy Valentine's Day to all!