Fragrant Isle essential oils are 100 percent pure — no water or additives, Martine said. She eventually moved to Florida but discovered you can’t grow lavender in that climate. “People’s mouths really open and they are like wow. The Lands We Share: Danell Cross & Metcalfe Park Legacy Garden, Barb Carey Introduces Women To Ice Fishing. You’ll see an abundance of both this time of year at one of the largest lavender farms in the Midwest, where more than 14,000 of the fragrant plants attract pollinators and people who can’t get enough — and, on occasion, a little too much. Thousands of bees are buzzing the lavender fields on Washington Island but find out why it’s unlikely you will get stung. We proudly farm sustainably without chemicals or pesticides. Harvesting and processing lavender is labor intensive as they collect the plants all by hand. Why not, she said. “That’s the problem with lavender, if you don’t trim it, it will get leggy,” Edgar said. © Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin, services of the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. Plants that are used for oils are cut in the morning and then cooked in a copper still the same day. Island Lavender will be featured on a new episode of Haunted State Friday, April 26 at 9pm on Amazon Prime! For the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, we discover how Wisconsinites experienced the war both at home and on the battlefield. WASHINGTON ISLAND (WLUK) -- A sea of purple plants is in full bloom in the far northern part Door County. ... Can be quite crowded at the weekend and during the month+ peak bloom. Yes, life at Fragrant Isle Farm & Shop is pretty sweet. Love Wisconsin? You can actually go back to the dead wood and just leave about a half-inch of green and that will come back.”. ... We're honored to have been chosen as a feature business to represent Washington Island, WI with our fragrant lavender blooms. Out of one batch in the still comes both Essential Oil and Lavender Hydrosol (flower water). The Andersons had no plans to get into the lavender business. Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm & Shop: lavender - See 202 traveler reviews, 166 candid photos, and great deals for Washington Island, WI, at Tripadvisor. Organic meat comes from Waseda Farms in Door County, and a new partnership with a vegetable grower on the island allows for fresh produce. Some are grown for culinary purposes; others for things such as body lotions and tonic. A lotion for little girls and men’s shaving cream and after shave are among five new products to be introduced at this year’s festival. We’re a little better than what the middle of Wisconsin would be, because we’re along (Lake Michigan), so the lake helps us, but we still get very long, cold weather.”. ... 127 W Washington St Sequim, Washington 98382. Bringing lavender plants (Lavandula spp.) The annual festival is home to the United States Snow Sculpting Championship, where teams from across the nation gather to compete as they create massive sculptures. When Does Lavender Bloom?. It’s time to embrace the season as Wisconsin Life host Angela Fitzgerald visits Winterfest in Lake Geneva. The Andersons expected 2,500 visitors for their inaugural All Things Lavender Festival last year. THE LAVENDER BLOOM IS ON IN SEQUIM! More than 5,000 people come for the lavender festival alone in late July. “Everything was designed to be able to sell the product we have here on the shelf in Chicago or New York or wherever when we get there.”. Get your favorite Wisconsin Life stories, meet the crew, and go behind the scenes. Watch this page for pictures of the Lavender Bloom Progress. The lavender is then hand cut, hand tied and hung up to dry. I like this.’”, kmeinert@pressgazettemedia.com and follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert, Schedule for All Things Lavender Festival at Fragrant Isle, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Things happen naturally.”. Food plays a central part in many holiday traditions. Washington Island has virtually no topsoil, but whatever the sandy loam ground lacks in nutrients, it more than makes up for in excellent drainage. When she noticed how well it did in her home garden, she had an idea for that “second career” she and Edgar had talked about. “We’re going to do it the French way. Washington Island Tourism Washington Island Hotels Bed and Breakfast Washington Island Washington Island Holiday Rentals Washington Island Holiday Packages “In the morning, I get up pretty early. At the Island Lavender Farm and Market, located in Door County Wisconsin, we hand harvest our lavender buds and artfully distill our essential lavender oil to make over 160 products for you. Washington Island Tourism Washington Island Hotels Washington Island Bed and Breakfast Washington Island Holiday Rentals Washington Island Packages It’s that time of year when the lavender plants, depending on the variety, are starting to bloom. Weather. “The lavender attracts a lot of tourism, and we get thousands of visitors a year, which is beginning to have an impact on the island,” Edgar said. A long distilling process yields the highest-quality oil, Edgar said. Her seed of an idea was enough to get him extensively researching the possibilities. Washington Lavender Farm is an oceanfront lavender farm in the Sequim Valley along the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Sequim and Port Angeles, Washington. “So we joke if the ferry were to fall down, the whole lake will foam with lavender soaps,” Edgar said. What started with 9,000 plants at Fragrant Isle has already grown to more than 14,000. View a map. Bundles dry for six weeks before the buds are extracted by the rotating brushes of a debudding machine. At the Island Lavender Farm and Market, located in Door County Wisconsin, we hand harvest our lavender buds and artfully distill our essential lavender oil to make over 160 products for you. It begins in mid-July in the two remote fields and will continue into August, gradually transferring the vibrant color in the fields into a large red barn, where a mass of cut bundles hangs from the trusses to dry. And lavender and cheese? It’s a year-round community with a few restaurants, bars, shops, hotels, and VRBOs. It’s so tranquil,” Edgar said. Daily Forecast; Hourly Forecast; Cameron's Road Show “The whole thing is just lavender. The address is 1309 Range Line Road, Washington Island, WI 54246. When the process is complete, the oil floats to the top of water and is separated. “When we said we were retiring, we didn’t say, ‘Well, let’s go do lavender,’” Edgar said. Workers cut five or six bundles from each plant. The Andersons did test garden plots at their home to see which varieties were most winter hardy. Where are is your lavender farm and shop located? The picturesque farm, with row upon row of perfectly manicured plants, is literally abuzz with bees. “Then you see this glow. PutFragrant Isle Lavender Farm & Shop into our Washington Island trip planner and find out what's close by, where to stay, and where to head next. ‘Eventually I said, ‘Mmm ... Washington Island looks much better than the O’Hare Airport,” Edgar said. While we own other fields as well, our main farm on the corners of Airport and Townline Roads on Washington Island will become home to approximately 30,000 lavender plants when planting is completed in … Located on the unlikely spot of Washington Island, 7 miles northeast of the tip of the Door County peninsula, Fragrant Isle doesn’t use any sprays or chemicals to grow the glorious-smelling herb. 920-847-2179 Washington Island Chamber of Commerce 2206 West Harbor Road Washington Island, WI 54246 info@washingtonisland-wi.com “Fragrant Isle has become a destination. Raising lavender on an island is tricky, especially on one that sits on the northern edge of where it’s even possible to grow the plant. Monday-Friday: 9-5 Saturday: 10-5 It takes a lot of lavender to distill it into Lavender Essential Oil. This series honors the foods and meals that make the day. It’s beautiful,” Anderson said. Washington Island Door County Farms Lavender Bloom Plants Beautiful The Farm Flora The farm is seeing more garden groups make the trip. The goal is to reach 30,000 plants between the Fragrant Isle main site and two remote fields not open to public. $9.95 Our Bee Happy mug resonates with all and inspires us daily. Instead, you might say they followed their nose. Answer 1 of 5: How late are there still blossoms on the lavender plants? An increasing number of folks are picking up on the Fragrant Isle scent. “We didn’t think it would be such a popular attraction, but it’s becoming a destination in the county. “I told Edgar, ‘What about lavender?’” Martine said. We're going to be there in mid-august, will there be any left? Washington Island is located off of the Door County peninsula. The Historic Island Dairy: Lavender - See 83 traveller reviews, 56 candid photos, and great deals for Washington Island, WI, at Tripadvisor. Add to cart. An irrigation system handles the watering, but 14 employees (and generous volunteers on the island) tend to the plants by hand, meticulously weeding throughout the season and trimming the plants before they go dormant to maintain the uniform ball shapes that make home gardeners envious. The Andersons spoke to 170 people at the Herb Society of America-Wisconsin Unit’s symposium in Milwaukee in March. There are reports all over Sequim about the purple getting ready to show! You’ll love Wisconsin Life, a place for engaging stories of the people that make Wisconsin feel like home. She began working this year with a woman on the island to make a lavender-cherry jam. "Ice Week" explores the many ways that ice defines us. When is your lavender in bloom? We are located on the corner of Townline and Airport Roads on Washington Island, WI off the tip of Door County. Escape winter with a look at some of Wisconsin's favorite sports and games. Anderson can remember the lilac bushes in bloom and the fragrant smell across the island on the northern tip of Door County. She went on to have a long career with high-end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. It’s no wonder the crew of the Washington Island Ferry notices so many purple Fragrant Isle shopping bags coming back with passengers who make the 20- to 30-minute voyage between the island and the mainland. “You take life once at a time, at my age and just enjoy, and I think that’s what I do,” Anderson said. We don’t freeze,” Martine said. Growing up in France, Anderson always had a sweet spot for lavender but owning an entire farm always seemed liked an impossible adventure. RELATED: Schedule for All Things Lavender Festival at Fragrant Isle, It can be a similar experience for workers who start harvesting the plants by hand in July. Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm & Shop, Washington Island Picture: Lavender in bloom! “You’ve got to cut them aggressively. Island Lavender and Farm Market . Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm & Shop, Washington Island Picture: English Lavender in full bloom - Check out Tripadvisor members' 1,409 candid photos and videos. They’re expecting 24 people for a class on cooking with lavender later this month. “We grow a more pungent variety, which is also edible, but people will not like it because it is too pungent, so we use it more for products like room sprays that is more for the aroma,” Edgar said. We proudly farm sustainably without chemicals or pesticides. It’s relaxation. “You cannot be naive going into this type of business. They get drunk on the nectar,” said Edgar Anderson, who owns the farm with his wife, Martine. You can stroll through 14,000 thriving lavender plants in the garden, where the view is spectacular, and enjoy unique shopping opportunities with over 120 exquisite lavender … Answer 1 of 5: How late are there still blossoms on the lavender plants? Warm weather or not, it’s here! I have to go take a nap.”. The sunshine on the plants is amazing. Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm is currently has over 16,000 plants and 48 different varieties of lavender growing, including white and pink lavender. Martine was born in France and lived for years in the South of France, where it’s “acre and acre and acre” of lavender fields. They had 5,000 — more than six times the year-round population of the 800 or so residents who call the 35-square-mile island home, not to mention a traffic record for the ferry line. Menu. Edgar recalls a worker last season who came forward and said, “I can’t continue. It’s that premise as an agribusiness tourist destination that makes Fragrant Isle a natural fit for Door County, where people want to see how things are grown or made and want to feel comfortable with the product they’re buying, Edgar said. Because the U.S. lavender industry is so small, machinery for harvesting is not easily available, Edgar said, so the majority of harvesting is done by hand. 2016 - Check out Tripadvisor members' 1,409 candid photos and videos. WASHINGTON ISLAND - It’s hard to tell who finds the lavender fields at Fragrant Isle more blissful: the bees or the tourists. It’s not just the green thumb crowd. “We have to be very careful because this is a harsh climate,” Edgar said. Location. For Anderson the sky is the limit and at the end of the day, she has accomplished her lifelong dream. Anderson uses the lavender to make soaps, lotions, body sprays and other organic lavender products. Lavender requires no fertilizing, and the Andersons forgo any chemicals to keep their product all natural, but they do tuck the plants in each winter by covering entire fields with a fabric that protects the crop from the island’s unforgiving winds. 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