Tucked between forest and sea on a small farm just west of Victoria on Vancouver Island, a field of lavender begins to bloom. These rows of purple fireworks, soft explosions under a gentle sun, surround our barn and kitchen and fan out across the property, stretching out towards the scotch broom, cedar trees, and Salish Sea. As the season shifts, our farm awakens for the summer.
Early at dawn, our small team can be found kneeling in the field hand-harvesting flowers for the year to come. The farm is quiet at this time and the work is slow and sometimes tedious. Sparrows and robins sing. Our team tends to the blossoms, cutting woody bases from leafy stems, as the sun slowly rises.
At Bilston Creek Farm, we grow both English and French lavender. Of these species, there are seven different varieties: Grosso French lavender, Folgate English lavender, Big Time Blue English lavender, Melissa Pink English lavender, Ashdown Forest English lavender, Munstead English lavender, and Hidcote English lavender. This potpourri of letters and names arrange into the bouquets and handmade goods found at our farm.
We invite you to wander down the lavender pathway and take in our field of lavender flowers. Consider this their short introduction.
Grosso French Lavender: The most common lavender at our farm. First developed in France for the making of perfume, this deep blue flower covers the inner half of our north field and all of our south field. Known for its strong scent, Grosso French lavender is hand-harvested in the summer and distilled on the barn patio using our copper alembic still to create lavender essential oil.
Folgate English Lavender: Sweet and slightly minty in scent, we sell culinary Folgate English lavender for beer brewing, ice cream making, and baking. Although still quite dark, these flowers are lighter violet in colour compared to Grosso French lavender and fill the outer half of our north field.
Munstead English Lavender: Another culinary variety, our Munstead English lavender takes up the greater part of the garden south of the kitchen surrounding the bench. With rosy purple flowers and a strong scent, this aromatic lavender is used in our simple syrup and English bouquets.
Big Time Blue English Lavender: Covering the east side of the field surrounding the bench, our Big Time Blue English lavender is used in our tea blend, simple syrup, and English bouquets. Known for its silvery green stem and deep purple flowers, this lavender pairs well with the fragrant Munstead English lavender.
Melissa Pink English Lavender: Lining the small path that leads to the bench, this variety is a paler magenta and primarily used for its colour. Other varieties come in shades of ivory and pink.
Ashdown Forest English Lavender: Like the Melissa Pink English lavender, this variety lines the small path that leads to the bench, is paler purple with a moody greyish-green foliage, and is also used primarily for its colour.
Hidcote English Lavender: A compact variety of English lavender, Hidcote is known for attracting bees and butterflies. This lavender lines the path to the bench alongside Ashdown Forest English lavender and Melissa Pink English lavender. It has deep purple-blue flowers and is the hardiest of the English varieties.
