Lavender: Growing Guide

An appropriately colored purple chair for relaxing among the many varieties of lavender at Purple Haze Lavender Farm and Store. Photo: Linda Popovich

Located at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, Sequim has become “America’s Provence,” the unlikely lavender capital of the United States with more than 50 acres of the beautiful fragrant plants billowing in the gentle breezes of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley.

[sidebar]Area farmers offer the following lavender cultivation tips:

-       Select varieties that are hardy in your area and meet your needs.

-       Prepare a well-drained soil amended with chicken manure in full sun.

-       Place plants so they have room to spread out—at least two to three feet apart—and cut back tall and spindly shoots to encourage lateral growth.

-       Water lavender regularly during its first growing season.

-       Mulch lavender with sand to keep the plants clean and reflect light and heat, which results in more fragrant blooms.

-       Harvest blossoming stalks when one half of the flower buds have opened. If picking for sachets,...