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

What’s the lockdown lowdown in Lavender Land – well ……

New beginnings: Eight little chicks arrived when they weren’t meant to, well that was my opinion but not Mrs Chook. She had disappeared, I really thought she had escaped lockdown, then a while she appeared with eight wee chicks. Very cute, I love little baby animals. They are currently in a separate cage with Mum, they are four weeks old now. We’ll let them out when they get a bit bigger, to save them from hawks that fly around looking for breakfast.

New office experiences: My office has been taken over by husband Stuart, who is also my IT specialist, which comes in very handy. He has his own workstation as do I, but blimey he has a lot of meetings in a day. Can hardly hear myself think sometimes BUT it is really nice to have him home, so that is a blessing. My daily routine (if I really had one) has gone out the window with all the new distractions.

New doggie experiences: Remy has been going for a run with Daddy, but I’m not entirely sure whether he’s enjoying it. Stu’s taking it easy with Remy and himself in the running department. Stu is a gym goer but not generally a runner so it’s reasonably new activity for both of them. If Stu doesn’t go for a run, he goes to the garage and does a gym workout. The dogs sit on his mat which is supposed to be used for his push-ups and other exercises but Remy always gets on the mat first.

Lily is too old for a run but was taken on a walk yesterday. Lily is coming up to ten years old and has developed spondylosis, which is a degenerative spinal condition where bone spurs develop along the vertebrae. She can be in pain and has lost strength is her back legs. Hence, she can’t go running with Daddy, so I take her around the paddocks for a stroll.

New grass: After the drought, the grass has been mowed three times now, it’s turned from brown to lush green and plenty of grass for the sheep to eat. The ram has been with the girls since beginning of February, so he’s having a good time out there. Will have lambs around July, the way this year is going July will be here before we know it.

New bounty: The orchard has been an amazing producer this season, we are currently picking figs every two days and trying to come up with new fig recipes. The best so far is baked figs and mozzarella, wrapped in bacon, oh so good. I’m still yet to make fig balsamic sauce, spicy preserved figs, drunken figs and fresh fig coulis. Glad we like figs!!! Would love to hear some new fig recipes if you have any, just post on FB.

New thoughts: I have to admit, after getting over the lockdown shock, which took about three weeks, I have had a relaxing time after our very busy marketing season. Two of our markets were cancelled, so the season was bought to a sudden halt, after that, I felt a little lost. After being so busy then nothing, I was in a bit of a “unknown” state. But now, my mind is clearer and I need to pull up my big girl panties and carry on. I need to start planning for next season, I can’t sit still expecting the worst, just keep planning, creating, experiencing, like the old saying goes “Build it and they will come”. So I’m starting to plan our market season and ‘pick your own’ lavender events, which we hope you will all come and visit us.

Bye for now lovely lavender lovers and take care out in the big wide world of New Zealand and to our lavender lovers further afield too. x

I’m always amazed where all the visitors come from for our lavender picking events. Year after year, men, women, kids and doggies flock in to see the lavender. They take family and friendship photos of each other as a keepsake, memory of their time together, Instagram or Facebook pages.

People have a great time and love what we do – ‘open our gates for the lavender experience’.

This year we were delighted to make a donation to Epilepsy First Aid – Krystle said, “Thank you very much for your support. Your donation will go towards printing costs plus advocacy and awareness of Epilepsy and first aid for the different seizures”. So, thank you visitors for your PYO lavender entry fees.

Lavender Harvesting 2020

We harvested our English lavender on Wellington Anniversary day. This year we chose to bring in some help. When harvesting the English lavender, we take the harvester off the sulky which means the machine needs to be carried up and down the rows, it’s heavy, so extra muscle was required.

The boys, Stu and Julian did a great job harvesting, while I carried the bag behind. I was of course, the quality control person and kept them on their toes. A few hours later the Violet Intrigue was harvested.

Stu and I harvested our French lavender a couple of weekends ago. A full day, started harvest at 8am, finished and packed up ready to go at 12pm. Drove to the distillers in Kapiti, arrived 2.30pm, then spend the next 6 hours distilling a huge amount of lavender flowers. Our flowers were profuse this year and our yield was up, we were stoked with the outcome. Hoping for another great year for our multi award-winning lavender oils.

Markets 2019-20

We have completed 24 of our 28 markets for the 2019-2020 season. We have Martinborough, Newtown, March Madness (Upper Hutt) and Waikanae Easter fairs still to go. It’s been lovely to see our customers and meet new customers this season, thanks for all your support of our small business, we couldn’t do what we love without your support.

Events

It was exciting to have our first ‘meditation in the lavender’ this year and the weather throughout the whole season was kind to us for all of open days too. We will be doing other events later in the year so keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook page. If you have any amazing ideas you’d like to see happen in the lavender, email me on lavenderabbey@xtra.co.nz, I’d love to hear from you.

Till next time – Keep calm and smell the lavender x