It definitely rained every day in July, I saw it, and I’m sure it has rained 90% of August as well.  We, and many others throughout New Zealand, are totally over the rain and mud.  We can’t complain when we look at what has happened to houses and properties in Marlborough and West Coast though.

However, we can get excited about Spring.  As I write this, the sun has finally arrived, the daffodils are up and the tulips are not far away. Plum trees have blossomed and the other fruit trees are well on their way to bursting into loveliness. 

We had a tough July with sickness at home, busy with lambing (which is not ideal when you’re unwell), all the rain and mud.  We struggled to find the positives for July, although when the wee lambies were born, they surely brightened up the days and bought a smile to my face.

We’re feeding three lambs currently due to mothers being unable to feed them for a range of reasons.  It’s such a time consuming job and my life feels like all it is, is mixing lamb powder, warming milk, trips out to the paddocks to feed the lambs three times a day, exhausting if you’re not 100%, so I’m looking forward to when they are eating grass only.

We will have later lambs this year as the ram broke the gate and visited five other sheep that we were not going to lamb.  Well the good thing is, it will be nice to have little lambs in November and December when we have people visiting the lavender field.

August started with a little bang and a big crash – the beginning was quiet and wet!! Then a couple of weeks ago Lily, our dog, got very sick.  She spent two days in intensive care under the good hands of the local vet and nurses. She had to go under anaesthetic for an x-ray but during the procedure her heart stopped, the vet was luckily able to bring her back into the world.  She had fluid in her chest cavity and it had to be drained. She has now been on antibiotics for a couple of weeks and is slowly coming right. We don’t really know her full health status, whether there is a cancer there, so we are monitoring her health and visiting the vet for check-ups.  So far she is on the improve. The local vet and nurses were amazing and we’re so grateful to them for saving her once again. She also had a life threatening episode is April 2021, which they also did an amazing job for her.  So July and August is over, thankfully.  Onto nicer times and positive things to look forward to.

The NZ Lavender Growers Assn Supreme Oil Awards 2022 was held in early August and the results will be out at the beginning of September. Cross fingies for good news there!! Hopefully I have some good news to tell you all then.

The shop is coming along well and we have an opening date – 8 October 10am–3pm.  Hours for the shop from then on will be Thu – Sun 10am-3pm. It’s looking great and a lot of work has been done to get it just right. It is everything I imagined and we hope you love it too.  To be able to make my dream come true is very special and I am so grateful to have such a supportive husband that believes in my dreams, no matter how wacky they can be sometimes.  We both look forward to you visiting us, either on opening day or thereafter. 

More to follow in late September, early October.

Stu and I wish you a lovely Spring September. Until then, enjoy the sun and give a big cuddle to the ones you love, especially your bundles of fur as they are never with us long enough.

Jan & Stu x

July on the farm is the start of lambing, babies are due today, however at this stage only five ewes look on time. The others are a couple of weeks away, the ram has obviously been a bit lazy this season.

The winter in Carterton has been calm and mild to date. Big frosty mornings and magnificent sunny still days, a pleasure to enjoy these special days before the wind and rain arrive.

We decided not to attend the mid-year Christmas markets in Greytown this chilly winter, so we are enjoying our nights by the fire instead of freezing our tootsies at the markets. Good choice I say. I visited the festival on opening night and it was a delight to see the fireworks and the shops covered in fairy lights, gorgeous window displays and the buildings all lit up with moving interactions.

MY LAVENDER OBESSSION CONTINUES WITH THE ADDITION OF AN EXCITING NEW LAVENDER SHOP

Due to the nice weather, Stu has been able to get stuck into erecting the new fence around the new lavender shop. The other fence was removed to put the new shop in its place, so we needed to move the sheep fence down the paddock a way.

Our lovely neighbour Alex (butt pictured at front of tractor) let us borrow (with supervision) his tractor to flatten out the shop site. They spent a while mucking around and playing with the boys toys this day.

Below is where the fence was removed. This is Stu measuring the new shop building space and doing the boxing for the concrete footings. Lily is giving instructions.

Once the footings were dug, measured, levelled, reinforced and dry from the rain, the cement truck arrived to fill them up with five tonne in each footing. We had to leave it for a few weeks to set but we could paint them once they were dry.

It was my job to paint them, what do you think of the colour? I didn’t want a dark purple as the sun would probably make it look black. I wanted a light airy colour and I think that’s what was achieved. We thought about green to blend in with the environment but then it wouldn’t be a ‘lavender shop’ then, would it?

The old pump shed needed replacing because it won’t blend in with the new shop.

Once the area was flattish, Stu and I lay weed mat down to stop the weeds and grass growing. We deserved a well-earned rest after this job.

Commencement of the customer parking area. We had to remove four conifer trees to make room for parking but a couple of them were going up to the power lines so needed to come out at some stage anyway.

So progress is happening on the shop front and it’s all coming along well. A few things still to sort out and get right before we have visitors, but we’re so looking forward to having you visit the shop.

Next month, you’ll see before and after pictures of the shop do-up and details of our OPENING DAY.

Stu and I wish you a warm, cosy, happy July and we’ll see you in August with an update on ‘what’s happening on the farm’.

Till then, keep warm and snuggle up to your loved ones.

Jan & Stu x

I can’t believe I haven’t written since December, sorry but I’m here now and hope to update you monthly with what’s happening on the farm.

Thank you all for visiting us during the lavender season 2021-22. We had our biggest year ever for visitors and we are so thankful for your visits. We met some lovely people, many new visitors and our regulars that have been visiting us for years. This year is going so fast, it will be the lavender season again before we know it.

After the busy lavender season subsides every March/April, we hibernate, for rest and recuperation.  It’s a quieter time when the urgency ceases and we can catch up with the rest of the property chores.

We can also, sometimes take a break, we had a couple of weekends away relaxing, reading books and just being together. The special times when everything stops, we walk the beach, watch the surf splash against the sand, hear and see the birds going about their business – digging for food, fighting for the fish they all want. 

At home we watch the cute swallows on the power lines cuddling up together.  The swallows are one of my favourite birds and they do great work eating insects that hang around the house.

Don’t you just love birdlife? When I watch the birds it takes me to a relaxation state, a type of meditation where all my worries disappear. I love going to Zealandia, photographing birds but also just watching them and hearing them sing to their mates, echoing throughout the bush. If you haven’t been to Zealandia in Wellington, you must go, take time out, relax, watch and listen to the birds.

What’s happening on the farm?

Stu has pruned the main two crops but the smaller lavenders need more of a special prune to get their shape right going forward. We’ll get into that job soon enough.

Autumn was very mild and we had many beautiful calm days. The frosts have arrived but it doesn’t worry the lavender at this stage of its dormancy.

Winter starts today and along with Winter come lambies!!! We expect to be lambing mid-July.  It’s always a lovely time when wee lambs are popping out all over the show and we always wish for healthy lambs and well birthing mothers.

We have many jobs to do this Winter.  We need to replace some of our fencing. One area is in the lavender, replace our rickety fence with a nice wooden fence. This fence will need painting – I wonder what colour???

We need to replace some paddock fencing to stop the silly sheep sticking their heads through our ‘one’ netting fence.  I shake my head; they know how to get their heads through the fence but can they figure out how to get it out, nope. 

All the orchard fruit has been picked, eaten, stored, dehydrated or cooked.  Figs are still hanging on but it’s coming to the end of that crop too.  We had no feijoas this season for some strange reason, it was a shame for me but not for Stu, he can’t stand them.

Chooks have stopped laying, it’s too cold they say! Grrr just when you want eggs they don’t give you any.

Back in November we talked about a shop on the property. Well the good news is, IT’S HERE!  We have a few bits and pieces to sort out but we are looking towards a Spring opening.  It’s looking really good and we’re excited to have it available to you so you can visit us and peruse our products in style. We will be open certain times and days of the year so keep an eye on the FB page and you will hear what’s going on in that department.  We can’t wait to see our lavender lover visitors in the new shop.

That is all that’s happening at Lavender Abbey currently so we wish you a warm, cosy, happy June and we’ll see you in July with an update on ‘what’s happening on the farm’.

Till then, take care y’all.

Jan & Stu

The fairs continue to be cancelled and I’m sure more will be too. Many of the big markets can’t work within the traffic lights framework, so markets may not ever be the same again. I hope they can come up with a way to make them happen, as everyone loves a big fair.

It’s been one month and a few days since the last news and wow the change is amazing. Nature is so wonderful, flowers coming back beautifully year after year, we are so lucky.

Look at the comparison of Violet Intrigue in a month.

The pink lavender wasn’t even flowering a month ago, now it’s abloom with pink florets.

Our ‘Pick your own lavender’ dates are 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23 January 2022 from 10am-3pm. The season is a week early this year so best come earlier in January. 

2022 will be the first year we have opened on New Years’ Day. We thought what an amazing way to start a brand new year and leave 2021 & 2020 behind us and kick them out the back door! Come and spend your New Years’ Day with us and enjoy some peace and quiet in the lavender, bring a picnic, family and friends and see the New Year in at Lavender Abbey.

Keep an eye on our facebook page for any early opening dates. You can pick purple, pink and white lavender this year.

Bring a picnic, your friends, family and doggies on a lead.  Last year we even had a cat in a pram!

We will be adhering to the Government’s traffic light system as our PYO Lavender is an ‘event’ and we have over 100 people.  Therefore, we are in ORANGE, you will need your vaccine pass to enter the property, please have it available for validation.  We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this situation. Our business could be fined a very large amount if we don’t adhere to the rules regarding Covid.

We look forward to seeing you in the lavender this lavender season for a slice of relaxation therapy.

Stu and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Take care and see you soon!

With so many of our markets cancelled this season we wonder what the next email will bring – another cancellation? Our markets are the backbone of Lavender Abbey, this is where we sell our wares, meet and chat with our customers and of course, earn our income.

Our products are the type of product that needs to be touched, smelt and we love chatting to our customers about our range.  We hope that the rest of the markets can go ahead and we can see you all again.  Check out our website under ‘markets/events’ to see where we will be this season.  The list is being updated as markets change so it will be as up to date as it can be.

On to brighter things:

I’ve been looking at the lavender in the field today, we are seeing lots of green leaves and small flowers are bursting from below. Some have a slight blue tinge but it’s a bit early for real colour.  Once the flowers emerge, the growth happens quickly and I’d say within three weeks we will see a burst of colour in the paddock, especially the Violet Intrigue.  Our Violet Intrigue (image below) is the first variety to flower and has an amazing bright purple hue. Although one of our new varieties looks like it has a lead on VI at this stage.  I will keep you up to date with pictures of the stage of the blooms as we go along. 

We have three new rows this year which are coming along well.  When you visit us this season the new plants are small but they will still have flowers, in 2023 they will look amazing. The netting is on the rows to save the little plants from being decimated by bunnies.

Our directional post (for your photos) is being painted by a local artist with lavender flowers and bees and is looking really cool.

We will have five umbrellas for you to shade under when you are picnicking in the field on our open days. These will be up but if it gets too windy, we’ll have to take them down until the wind subsides.

Our ‘Pick your own lavender’ dates are 1^st, 2^nd, 8^th, 9^th, 15^th, 16^th, 22^nd and 23^rd January 2022 from 10am-3pm.  We choose these early January days as this is when the lavender is at its brightest and best. Towards the end of January and into February, the tone changes as the flowers mature and develop lavender oil.

2022 will be the first year we have opened on New Years’ Day. We thought what an amazing way to start a brand new year and leave 2021 & 2020 behind us and kick them out the back door! Come and spend your New Years’ Day with us and enjoy some peace and quiet in the lavender, bring a picnic, family and friends and see the new year in at Lavender Abbey.

We will let you know closer to the time regarding any Covid requirements for our open days.

EXCITING NEWS!!!!

We are excited to say we are getting a shop on the property. This is something we’ve been trying to do for some time now but we didn’t find the right building.  We are rapt that we can finally go ahead with my vision.  It may not be here for your January visit but we’ll let you know on our website and facebook page what the opening days and times will be.  We’d love to see you at the shop when it’s up and running.

That’s about all the ‘Blooming Lavender’ news we have right now, we’ll keep you up to date as the flowers emerge into purple and other colours, always a fabulous time of the year.

Take care and see you soon!

The association provide a GC report which shows the chemistry of our oils and if any chemical components are out of balance. It is important as a lavender grower to know the oil you are providing your customer, is the best lavender oil in New Zealand.

LAVENDER ABBEY – CARTERTON

Stu and I have been growing lavender for 13 years after moving from Wellington for a lifestyle change.

The varieties we grow are Grosso, Violet Intrigue, Pacific Blue, Super and have recently planted a variety of English lavenders which are still very small but hopefully grow fast for the coming season.

We have a small shop on site and are open by appointment. On our PYO lavender days we are open Sat & Sun 10-3pm, for the weekends in January.

Since 2015 we have won numerous awards for our lavender oil and recently we were awarded first prize in the ‘Australian International Olfactory Oil Competition 2021’, for our ‘Violet Intrigue’ lavender oil.

All of our natural lavender products are made by me from scratch, no pre-made bases here!!

We have three markets in July:

3rd July – Winter’s Day Out, Awapuni Racecourse, Palmerston North

11th July – Heart of Winter Market, Carterton Events Centre

31st July – Greytown Festival of Christmas, Greytown Town Hall

We visited a few lavender farms on our recent trip around the South Island.

LAVENDYL – KAIKOURA LAVENDER

Lavendyl – Kaikoura Lavender Farm is just off the main road at Kaikoura and is well sign posted. Myra and team are currently removing 25 year old Grosso plants and re-planting, hoping to be ready for the next season. There is a shop on site and they offer refreshments.

HERBAL VISIONZ – AMBERLEY

Herbal Visionz are lavender growers and distillers, they distil lavender for other growers in the region. They currently have around 5,000 plants consisting of Pacific Blue, Impress Purple, Avice Hill and are looking to expand their crop to grow Grosso. They are not open to the public.

BELLBIRD LAVENDER – OXFORD

Allan and Antoinette are relatively new growers (18 mths) and call their farm Bluebird Lavender. Coming from a ‘green fingered family’ they were looking for a new venture and decided upon lavender. They have a small still which they experimented with last season, distilling their first lavender oil. They propagate Dentata and a few other lavenders, the Dentata grows very well in their area. They attend the local Oxford market and sell soap, a variety of other lavender products, plants and bunches. They are open for visitors by appointment only.

DANSEY’S PASS LAVENDER – OAMARU

Jo and Barry (and Tammy, their very cute wee dog) own Dansey’s Pass Lavender. It is approx 25km from the main road, on a gravel road, but well worth the trip. They grow Grosso, Pacific Blue, Impress Purple, Mailette, Bojong, Super and Hidcote. They have approx 3,000 plants, so some varieties they only have a few hundred of each. They are open for visitors from Oct – April on Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon and also by appointment throughout the year.

NZ ALPINE LAVENDER – MT COOK HIGHWAY

The largest lavender farm in the South Island, having approx. 100,000 plants. They are certified organic and have been growing lavender for 12 years. The varieties they grow are Avice Hill, Violet Intrigue, Pacific Blue, Grosso, Mailette and Molten Silver. They have a shop onsite and are open for visitors from Nov – Mar annually.

The NZ Lavender Growers Association have a website https://www.lavender.org.nz/ which you can find out more about growing lavender. There is also a lavender trail https://www.lavender.org.nz/lavender-trail which shows you all the lavender farm members in New Zealand.

We will travel around the North Island to visit lavender farms in 2022, we’ll keep you posted on them next year.

Happy Winter to you all, may your garden hibernate well and spring forth in Spring with lots of gorgeous blooms.

When the lavender starts flowering, our first job is to cut the flowers and make bunches to hang and dry in the shed. Once dried, after a couple of weeks in the warmth of the shed, we rub the bunches so all the flowerets fall into a bucket. Some lavender growers use a machine for rubbing but we do this job manually which is very meditative. It’s nice to smell the lavender and feel the oil on our hands from the buds. We rub a lot of bunches in one sitting, then we pop the buds into organza bags.

Hang an organza bag filled with lavender on a door handle, pop a couple in your sock or knickers drawer, linen cupboard or under your pillow at night for a restful sleep, are simple ways to enjoy the benefits of lavender’s alluring scent in your home.

Lavender Floral Water / Linen Spray

Lavender Floral Water and Linen spray is a natural alternative to other room sprays.

The floral water can be sprayed on your bedding for a relaxing bedtime ritual.

You can spritz your carpets and pet areas generously throughout your home knowing you are spraying a natural product into the atmosphere.

The floral water is also a face toner and sunburn soother. Pop a bottle of floral water in the fridge, then in the heat of summer, when you’re all hot and bothered, spray your face and body, it feels so good. Great to cool down and calm down women of a certain age, like me!!

Essential Oil Uses

Lavender Pure Essential Oil is the pride and joy of the lavender grower. We are so delighted to have received FIVE SILVER AWARDS for our lavender oils at the NZLGA Supreme Oil Awards 2020.

The lavender aroma has an instant calming and grounding effect once inhaled. We see this with our customers, they sniff, then this adoring look comes over them and they groan Ahhh!!!.

I use drops of lavender oil on my pillow at night, the last thing I remember at night is the aroma of lavender. When I wake in the morning, the lavender is still billowing on my pillow. It is a calming ritual to sleep and waken with lavender, especially multi award-winning lavender.

Diffusers are an effective way to enjoy the benefits of aromatic essential oils. Lavender reduces stress and anxiety. For a little lift and energy add citrus, maybe orange essential oil to your diffuser with lavender, great for the office when you are working.

Before bed, take a bath with a few drops of lavender essential oil or rub a couple of drops on the soles of your feet to relax you and assist with sleeping.

For a headache, simply inhale or rub on your temples to release tension.

Fantastic for itchy bites, takes the sting away, so it makes a good insect repellent with other ingredients.

We would love to hear how you use lavender, pop a comment in the FB link and tell us your favourite lavender rituals.

Till next time, take care x

Stuart and I are elated to have won SEVEN awards this year. We entered seven lavender oil samples and received an award for each of them, which was just amazing.

At the presentation in Wellington, we received a Gold for our Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’ 2019 vintage, our first Gold for our main crop, fantastic!

We also received Gold for our Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’ 2018, which last year received Silver, and has developed nicely into a Gold award winner.

This is a big achievement for us to finally receive Gold for our Grosso after 11 years of growing lavender. To say we are over the moon is an under-statement.

Judges’ comments for our Grosso oils were:

• Lovely aromatic notes, fresh and well balanced.
• Delicate fresh oil with a touch of citrus and spice.

Our Lavandula angustifolia ‘Violet Intrigue’ won Silver for our 2019, 2018 and 2017 vintages. No Golds were achieved for Violet Intrigue this year, however we achieved the highest score of all the entries of Violet Intrigue and only a fraction off a Gold.

Judges’ comments for our Violet Intrigue oils were:

• A vibrant, sweet and full balanced oil
• Light and delicate for a young oil
• Lovely aromatic notes. Nice vibrant round oil, the floral notes have matured well.

For the first time I entered a couple of lavender blends, which is a mix of two or more lavender varieties. The blends were balanced beautifully and mellowed the Grosso with the incredible perfume of the Violet Intrigue floral scent.

Our lavender blends received Gold for the 2019 entry and Silver for the 2018 entry. Being the first time entering blends, I was over the moon with receiving these awards.

Judges’ comments for our blended oils were:

• A pleasant well balance blend
• Fresh and delicate, a very pleasant blend

We will be selling these blends alongside our other award winning lavender oils on our website, PYO events and markets this season.

Hope you enjoyed reading this month’s blog about our success. We’d love to hear your comments on our Facebook link.

Thanks so much for you continued support of our small business, we wouldn’t be here without you.

x

Unfortunately, 2020 was not to be a year of dreams coming true and sweet experiences for us, NZ or the World. However, we are very grateful of what we have; jobs, a roof over our head, family and friends and our customers that kept Lavender Abbey ticking along and with that, we thank you. It’s so hard for small businesses to keep afloat at the best of times and we send all NZ businesses our best wishes.

So let’s look forward not back and start planning some dreams and sweet experiences for 2021.

The NZ Lavender Growers Supreme Oil Awards 2020 is coming up at the end of August. With this, we will hear how we got on with the lavender oils we entered this year. The judging nearly didn’t go ahead but it was able to be done a few weekends ago in Kapiti. Wish us luck!

You may have seen our “Lads in the Lavender” 2021 calendar. This was put together by volunteer models who gave us their time to be photographed frolicking in the lavender. All proceeds go towards the Prostate Cancer Foundation of NZ. If you want to be in the 2022 calendar, please get in touch. This will either be another Lads in the Lavender or Ladies in the Lavender, depending on volunteer’s interest. We need to support our men and women who need a little help. Please donate $20 plus P&P here: https://www.lavenderabbey.co.nz/product/lads-in-the-lavender-calendar-2021

We have attended two markets recently and in September the market season will begin, so you will see us around the Wairarapa, Wellington and other regions, all going to plan up till March 2021. Customers were upbeat and enjoyed being out and spending money which was great.

Our new lavender planting is going slowly but will endeavour to get the first row planted very soon, then we can plan the next rows later in the year. We had other plans this year but they have gone by the wayside for the moment.

Our lambing is over for the season; we now have 17 lambs running around the paddock like little loonies. Our chickens are still not laying which is frustrating but the young ones should start soon.

We have some lovely lavender scarves going on the website shortly for sale. They are designed by a NZ woman and they feel so soft on your skin. They can also be used as a table cloth/runner or other creative options. Stock is limited, so let me know if you want one.

We need to have things to look forward to, I hope you will put your comments on the Facebook post of what you’re looking forward to. Here are some of mine: Spring, I’m enjoying watching the daffodils and poppies spring up in the garden. Planting lavender, really need to get this one row planted and start to see them grow. Blossoms on the fruit trees, my sisters 60th ‘groovy’ party, markets starting, Summer, 2021 and PYO lavender.

Take care out there x

Exciting!! – we’re adding more lavender rows! We’re half way through laying the polythene on the first row, we’ll finish it when the weather clears and then plant our little babies. The other rows will follow in October, a total of 4 or so… When you visit this year the plants will be small but hopefully they will be flowering if we can get them all planted in time for our open days.

I’ve also been busy propagating lavender, they will be potted on after they’ve rooted and will eventually be planted out to replace our Grosso gaps. There could be some for sale, if you’re interested just let me know.

We have new products coming online – our new liquid soap is already there. We’ll have other exciting new products coming online very soon. They’ll also be available at the markets for our fabulous customers. Check out our markets/events page on the website to see where we’ll be this coming season.

Our ewes have started lambing, one ewe has had a wee lamb but she hasn’t got enough milk to feed it, so it is currently being bottle fed. I’m hoping the Mum will produce more milk as she goes along. This is always an exciting but sometimes stressful time of the year. Last year I was able to save two lives when the ewe didn’t have enough milk to feed them. It is time consuming but when they come running for their milk, it’s so cute. Why can’t our lambs have big boobies for their babies??

This month we have our first market for the 2020-21 season – held at Awapuni Racecourse is the ‘Winters’ Day Out’ on 25th July 10am-5pm. It’s a great venue and there are so many wonderful creative stalls, you must come and see.

Our next markets are on 12th and 13th September – Upper Hutt Spring Festival and the Carterton Daffodil Festival. On Daffodil day we’ll be in our usual place at Memorial Square with the Carterton Farmers Market stallholders. It’s always a fabulous day with many Wellingtonians coming on the train to pick daffodils and shop at the fair and retail outlets. Lots to see, lots to eat and hopefully lots of sunshine on the day.

Until we see you again, we’ll be busy adding rows, growing lavender, looking after baby lambs, planning picking events, making lots of product including some new exciting recipes, plus planning many other things whirling around in my head.

Take care lavender lovers, thanks for being there, we wouldn’t be here without the support of our followers. x