Taking it all in at a Washington State Lavender Farm

By: Andre Kok

In 1998 when Sarah Richards bought a five-acre hay field on Whidbey Island, Wash., she knew she wanted to build a house there, but wasn’t sure what she would do with the rest of the land. She called on the local county extension agent at the time, Don Meehan, and asked him what was possible. “You can’t do something that needs a lot of water, because you don’t have irrigation rights with your land,” he told her.

Based on his advice and some further research, Richards decided to plant some lavender. “We planted a little lavender to see how it would do and we loved it,” she said. One thing led to another and soon most of the field was planted with rows of the purple flowering bushes.

Richards’ Lavender Wind Farm has now grown to over eight acres after the purchase of an adjacent field. The farm is open to the public and visitors can stroll through the rows of lavender and poppies, look through the gift shop featuring a veritable selection of lavender products, or make their way through a lavender labyrinth.

The idea to open the farm to the public as a place of relaxation and fun came to Richards as soon as it was clear that she would begin farming as a commercial operation. “I realized that with just five acres, there was no way I was going to be able to make enough money just growing the crop,” she said. Richards now employs nine people during the busy summer season and has two full time employees year round.

New lavender plants are planted in the fall. “Then mother nature takes care of irrigating all winter long,” she said. “We don’t have to worry about watering.”

Richards and her staff create a variety of lavender laced products, from soaps and shampoos to jams, jellies, teas and culinary lavender.

“People love the idea of goat’s milk lavender soap, it’s increasingly popular,” said Richards. “Our food products tend to produce a lot of interest in visitors too. Many didn’t know that you could eat lavender and people coming in for the first time love to try the lavender ice cream. It’s a novelty and they are just amazed by it.”

Customers also appreciate that lavender from the farm is certified organic. “You wouldn’t think that lavender would benefit from being certified organic, but it does, and I’m really happy about that,” Richards said.

Richards hopes that visitors to her farm will walk away with more than just some of her specialty lavender products. She says many visitors comment to her that what they enjoy most is the peace and quiet of being out on the farm and just looking over the fields.

“Over and over they tell us how much they appreciate the chance to relax in a place of beauty and take a break from the normal hustle and bustle of daily life,” she said. Richards says that lavender is an herb of tranquility and peacefulness. Visitors to her farm will be sure to enjoy a good dose of both.

A handful of lavender stems is gathered into a bundle after being cut from the bush with a sickle at Lavender Wind Farm on Whidbey Island, Wash.

Fresh bundles of lavender sit on top of the bushes from which they were harvested before being collected and hung up to dry at Lavender Wind Farm