BLANCO

Lavender blooms on Hill Country farms

By Clare Miers
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Tuesday, February 12, 2008

This story was originally published June 2, 2007.

BLANCO - Stand downwind from a fragrant lavender field, close your eyes and you're quickly transported to the heart of Provençe. Only the moaning steer in the background jolts you back to reality.

These peaceful herb farms are far from France. They are deep in the heart of Texas.

And this season's lush crops have painted the rolling hills west of Austin a beautiful shade of light purple just in time for a series of lavender-related events in the Blanco, Johnson City and Fredericksburg areas.

The Blanco Chamber of Commerce's 3rd Annual Blanco Lavender Festival gets under way June 9-10, featuring free tours at nine area farms as well as the chance to experience the lavender farming industry in different stages of development. In addition to activities at the farms, a lavender market will be set up around the historic Old Blanco County Courthouse, where Hill Country vendors and artists will sell lavender-related products.

"Our last winter in general was cold enough to give the lavender a nice bloom this season," says Jon Brieger, festival co-chair and chamber president. "Our farms are much further along this year than last year and we're expecting a lot of lavender blooms as well as people coming to the Blanco area to enjoy the lavender and Texas related events, entertainment, arts, crafts, food, wine tastings, speakers and farm tours."

Lavender oil, popular for its calming effects, is used in aromatherapy and in bath products. Its dried flowers are often encased in netting as sachets or used as part of potpourri and it also has culinary and herbal homeopathic uses.

According to the American Horticulture Society's "A - Z: Encyclopedia of Garden Plants," lavender occurs in dry, sunny, exposed rocky habitats from the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean to Northeast Africa, Southwest Asia and India.

Most of the lavender you see today has adapted to many climates and conditions. Lavandula angustifolia, and hybrids "Grosso" and "Provence," for instance, can grow in both hot, dry, summers and very cold. The Hill Country's drier weather and alkaline limestone soils make the region optimum for this evergreen herb.

There are many different varieties and Central Texas growers all have their preferred cultivation techniques. But really, lavender is so new to Texas that there is a pioneer's excitement in the trial and error of growing these crops.

Hill Country Lavender, in Blanco, (www.hillcountrylavender.com ) was the first commercial lavender farm in the state. Started in 1999, the farm now has a new owner, Tasha Brieger, and new location amid live oaks and rolling hills just north of the city at McCall Creek Farms. They have two-and-one-half acres of Provençe lavender blooming now (3,000 to 3,500 plants). Brieger and her teams are preparing for droves of lavender lovers to show up next weekend for festivities.

So are Jack and Debi Williams, who own Hummingbird Farms (www.hummingbirdlavender.com ) on U.S. 290 between Johnson City and Fredericksburg. The couple wholesales their lavender crops and oils all over Texas and cultivates it for their own line of bath and body products.

The couple, both of whom come from farming families, researched the production of essential oils for several years before planting their first field in 2003. They grow Lavandula angustifolia, or "true lavender," from which they draw the most highly prized lavender oil, as well as other English and French varieties.

Five acres of the Williamses' 110-acre farm is lavender. They hope to increase that to 20. Jack Williams harvests lavender by hand, using sickles, and dries and distills part of his yield for wholesale and retail applications.

"We cut early in the mornings after the dew has lifted and get it to the barn or the distiller as quickly as possible," he says. An acre of lavender can produce 12,000 bunches of lavender and while the oil yield varies, he says they usually get about 15 pounds of oil per acre. They also grow Lavandula x intermedia "Provence."

"It is actually a lavandin, or what we call a cross, which is sterile and can only be reproduced by cuttings, i.e., propagation," Williams says. "This is the lavender grown by most of the other lavender farms in the Hill Country. We do not distill this lavender due to its higher camphor content. However, it produces a great dried lavender bud that we use in potpourri and sachet."

"Grosso," another Lavandula x intermedia, makes up 75 percent to 80 percent of the lavandin grown in France, Williams says. He says this type of lavender makes a good oil with a good yield out of the plant, but because of its camphor, it is used in more commercial applications (detergents, soaps, cleaning supplies, candles).

"-'Grosso' makes an excellent dried lavender because of its long, sturdy stems and deep blue color," he adds.

The Williamses grow true lavender for its optimal essential oil production. It ranges from light purple to dark blue and the plants are typically smaller than the lavandins.

"This is the oil we distill for our line of bath and body products and it is the same high quality oil that is distilled in Europe for fine bath products and perfumes," Debi Williams says.

Many of the farms offering tours June 9-10 will also have special activities and events related to their purple harvests. If you miss the weekend festivities, many of the farms are open during the growing season and sometimes by appointment year-round. Call to inquire about off season times.

Or you can grow lavender in your own garden.

The growing season is May through July (sometimes longer, depending on the climate) and Jack Williams recommends planting in late fall or winter so the lavender will not risk freezing before the roots can become established and the plant allowed to go dormant.

"We cannot stress enough the importance of soil preparation," Williams says. Have very loose soil at least 18 to 24 inches deep in a 3-foot circle. Lavender plants are hardy but need well-draining soil that will hold moisture without binding the roots. Add compost, gravel, or granite sand with your soil. Lavender prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil . If you plant now, use a pot. Place gravel or broken clay in the bottom, and use a good potting soil. Keep the root ball moist. Most folks lose their lavender because the soil loses all its moisture and the root ball dries. Trim in the fall. You can trim about 1/3 of the plant, and as long as you keep some leaves, you will be OK.

clare@MiersMedia.com

If you go ...

Lots of activities are on tap at Hill Country farms and for the Blanco festival, including live music, workshops and arts and crafts. Information: (830) 833-5101, www.blancolavenderfest.com/. For a detailed map of the farms, visit www.blancolavenderfest.com/maps/map_farms.php. Farms are within 20 minutes of one another so you can visit several in one day. Each will offer activities and events related to lavender, including classes in aromatherapy and demonstrations of lavender oil distillation.

In conjunction with the Blanco festivities, Johnson City is hosting Lavender Evenings with Art and Music, Friday and June 9, featuring entertainment and extended museum, gallery and shop hours. (512) 241-9588, www.hillcountryportal.com/web/jclavender/.

And through June 30, as part of 'Fredericksburg Lavender Trail: Farm to Table,' several restaurants are offering at least one lavender-flavored food item and farms are open for visitors on weekends. Information: (830) 997-1068, www.villatexas.com. Villa Texas, 234 W. Main St., Fredericksburg, has lots of lavender products and information.