By Our first week of lavender picking is done and we hope those of you who have visited us have had a good time in our flowering varities! We’re really enjoying seeing some familiar faces about the place and lots of new ones too!
How is the lavender looking?
Similarly to last week, the whole field is not in full bloom just yet but we do have about 10-15 rows in a lovely purple budding stage.
This is an ideal time to pick the lavender if you want to dry it as the lavender is still in the calyx stage, during which oil retention will be maximised as the lavender heads dry out! Cutting and drying a bunch now will give you great smelling lavender for years to come!
Check out our gardening tips post from last week for more info!
How are the wildflowers looking?
Simply stunning! The wildflowers are in full bloom and there is now a HUGE amount of poppies around the field. The yellows and whites of the daiseys are combining beautifully with the deep blue of the cornflowers and the flashes of red from the poppies. If you want wildflowers, now is the best time to come!
As you can see in the picture above, the bees are really enjoying the fresh flowers and we are too!
How are the sunflowers looking?
We are still awaiting the growth of our sunflowers and have put up some scarecrows to help protect some of the seedlings. While we enjoy the company of our avian visitors, they do like snacking on our freshly sown seeds so we’re doing our best to discourage them from that!
As a happy coincidence, we now need a name for our newest scarecrow! If you have a suggestion, please send us a message!
This week’s news and views…
We’re very happy to announce that several new information signs have now been put up around Hitchin Lavender, giving you all the interesting tidbits about the farm. Look out for them in front of the main field, the display field, and our wildflower and sunflower patches!
The display field is also coming along very nicely and the different colour varities are starting to show beautifully! Pictured above are our Pacific Blue and Rosea varities, which will be coming into their fuller colours over the next few weeks.
Hitchin Lavender Blog 