Sunday, June 17, 2007

Fields of Purple
Last weekend I was so lucky to have gotten an invitation to the first Open House at the coolest place. I met these nice ladies two years ago at a festival in Chesapeake. I have bought their lovely items twice now and have never been disappointed! Wonder where I was? I was in a very small little town in North Carolina called Harbinger. It took us over an hour to get there, but the scenery was so pleasant, I would move from here to there in a skinny minute!
Harbinger, NC has the privilege of being the home of The Harbinger Lavender Farm. The farm is family owned. The current owners inherited the farm from their parents and I am sure that if their parents were around, they would be so proud how the farm has evolved. This past Saturday the family had an open house and from what I could see, it was a wonderful success.

Check out all this color…
This table was set up so we could learn how to make a lavender wand. I was not so good at it but I got better the longer I sat there. The farm has about 2 acres of land with nothing but these beauties just grown' away. There is sand surrounding the whole field so each plant look like a purple spiked oasis. It's just something for the eye to behold.
Here is a better view of the field. It's just breath taking! And smells like heaven when the wind wafts by.
The older the mound gets the more spikes of flowers they throw. The taller spikes are great for the wands but all of them are wonderful for something.
I know that I couldn't resist the purple spikes, but here is someone else who loved them too.

The hubby and I cut together and we collected three bundles that cost us $8 each. They were selling the pre-made wands for $3 each, so $8 a bundle was a good price.
Here is the view from the back of the field looking out towards the house and the Lavender shed. Behind the house there is an old barn. One of the children told me that the little barn was cluttered and filthy a while back. The sisters who own the property now, went out one day and cleaned it out to have a place to dry the Lavender and create projects to promote the sell of their Lavender. The inside was wonderful, but I didn't get a shot of it. I was too busy looking around at the Lavender soap, baked goods, recipes, painted rocks, etc.
What has any of this Lavender picking day got to do with knitting? Well I figured that my hand spun and hand knitted items were worthy of some fresh picked North Carolina Provence Lavender to shoo away any wool eatin' critters! We had a fun drive there and back. I got to pick some fresh Lavender, make some new friends, buy some fresh produce and homemade fudge from a roadside farmers market and I got to eat some rib stickin' North Carolina pull pork BBQ. It was a perfect day and it smelled good too!

8 comments:

Tracy Batchelder said...

Sounds like my kind of day. Love the pictures you took. I can almost smell the lavender from here.

vlb5757 said...

It was a very relaxing day away from the city. I needed that break and what a bonus, it smelled really good too! The ladies love their business and are very knowledgeable. I want to go back again next year. I will see them at a festival in November so that will be a bonus.

MeBeth said...

Oooh BBQ! I miss it so much. One of the best things about my years of living in the south. (And biscuits, of course.)

vlb5757 said...

I just love BBQ. I was raised on it and have never lost my taste for it. NC BBQ is vinegar based and Texas is tomato based. I like both but most folks have a strong love for one over the other. As long as I didn't have to cook it, I love most anything! We bought hubby a smoker for Father's Day and he smoked a brisket. It was to die for! Made me so homesick I could hardly stand it. Biscuits and Gravy; you can't be that with a stick. It has to be cream or creamed sausage gravy. None of that icky brown stuff ever goes on my Chicken Fried Steak or biscuits. Meatloaf? Now that's where brown gravy belongs.

Anonymous said...

oh, I can only imagine how lovely it must have smelled there!! Sounds like a wonderful day : )

Tina T-P said...

Oh, What fun! We have several lavendar farms around here but I've never visited any of them. I used to have a huge lavendar plant in my garden, but it died a couple years ago and I haven't gotten it replaced yet. I miss that heady smell and watching the bees bob and weave, almost drunk with the fragrance. Loved your story about handmade memories too. :-) T.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful article on the Harbinger Lavender Farm. Made me feel like I was there. I could close my eyes and smell the lavender. I wish every one could have the experience of visiting this amazing place. Thanks.

vlb5757 said...

Thanks. It was a sight to behold. All that Lavender was just so fragrant and beautiful in the field. I missed getting the notice for 2008 so I am going to try and get there for 2009. It's just a lovely drive to NC and fresh air and farmer's roadside stands everywhere. I can't wait to go again! Thanks for stopping by.