There are many lavender farms in New Zealand and more and more people are deciding to grow this beautiful purple flower. Most of the growers belong to the NZ Lavender Growers Assn but there are others that do not. Belonging to the association is a place of support, learning and ensuring the lavender oil we produce is to a good standard. We do this by entering our oils into the annual oil awards competition and comparing our oils against others.

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.