Tuesday, June 5, 2012

A Visit To Lavender Hollow

Hello Sweet Friends!  This past weekend I had the fun opportunity to travel with some gal pals to visit Lavender Hollow Farm.  This beautiful little farm is located in Escalon- only an hour drive away- and was a perfect, easy day trip.
 As soon as we opened the doors of the car the lovely fragrance of lavender greeted us.  I love the smell of lavender, so the fragrance was like heaven for me!
  The gardens surrounding the private residence are so charming.
 We enjoyed walking around the grounds.  There was plenty to look at...
 ... like this beautiful clematis climbing the entry to the private residence.  I love how it looks against that pretty used brick wall.
Aren't these beautiful?!  I love the vivid violet color.  No alterations were done to the color in this photo-- this is really how it looked!
  Lavender Hollow Farm is open for a very short season, only 5 or six weekends.  The lavender is in early bloom right now-- and I imagine that the color will intensify throughout the coming weeks.  Each weekend the farm offers lavender crafting classes under the canopy in the photo above.  On this day, the guests were creating heart shaped lavender wreaths~ so pretty!
Charm and sweetness around every corner...
 
  ...and a really great variety of lavender plants were available for purchase. I purchased two-- Sachet and Betty's Blue!

 I never knew there were so many varieties of lavender!  I love that this variety is named "Alice".  That happens to be my favorite auntie's name.
 Inside the lavender barn was a fun boutique.
I love the hardware on the door to the barn-- so pretty!
  We found a great variety of lavender goodness-- lots of bath, culinary, and gift products.  I ended up purchasing some ground culinary lavender for baking, and can't wait to try it out in a batch of shortbread cookies!
 It was refreshing to find items at such reasonable prices.  Sometimes prices of items in tourist locations can be so inflated, but that wasn't the case here at all.
 We wandered around the grounds, taking photos and enjoying the sunshine.  Lavender grows well here because of the Mediterranean climate in this valley.
 We enjoyed a really great box lunch catered by Leonardo's Cafe.  Every item was infused with lavender.  It was so good-- not overpowering at all.  Click here to see the yummy menu! 

Oh, and I couldn't leave without treating myself to a lavender infused pink lemonade for the road.  The perfect ending to a perfect visit to Lavender Hollow Farms!  (Now, off to shop the antique/vintage stores!)

Hugs,

5 comments:

kim g. said...

This looks like such a nice place to visit! Glad you had a nice time at such a pretty place!

Claudia said...

Looks like heaven to me. I can just feel the warm sun on my face and the smell of lavender in the air.

xo
Claudia

Kathi said...

Great little road trip! I love lavender too. I hope your plants do well at your house! The lavender lemonade looks delicious!

Lisa said...

What a nice day! That clematis is stunning! I've always loved that plant and wanted to grow some of my own, but I kill it every time. Like Sean says... I have the 'black thumb of death'... le sigh. What a fun afternoon, I'll bet it smelled just as lovely as it looks!

Unknown said...

Hi Jill, thank you for sharing, what a beautiful place and can see why you had such a wonderful time.

FYI I have added you to my blog roll...want to be sure what is going on at your blog.

Lynnie