Established in 1999, Jardin du Soleil is a certified organic lavender farm with thousands of lavender plants growing across 10-plus acres of land in Sequim, Wash. (Jennifer Schneider)
Outside the Provence region of France, the Sequim-Dungeness Valley in Washington State boasts the highest concentration of lavender plants. Nicknamed “Sunny Sequim,” the town is nestled in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. With less annual rainfall than neighboring cities on the Peninsula, the location provides the ideal climate for the flowers to flourish: maritime breezes and sandy, drought-resistant soil.
The annual Lavender Festival, held every third weekend in July, has attracted thousands of tourists worldwide for over two decades. This year, 16 lavender farms opened their fields to the public, offering farm tours, U-picks, hands-on activities, and lavender paraphernalia—from the kitchen to the bath, and beyond.
B&B Family Farm grows 14,000 lavender plants of 16 different varieties. (Jennifer Schneider) Cradled between the Olympic Mountain Range and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Bluffs Cidery and Lavender Farm has sweeping views of the mountains and waterways. (Jennifer Schneider) Established in 1996, Purple Haze Lavender is located on 7 acres of farmland in Sequim, Wash. (Jennifer Schneider) One of the many benefits to growing lavender are the pollinators and beneficial insects they attract. A bumble bee on the lavender at Purple Haze Lavender. (Jennifer Schneider) A sea of lavender meets the weeping willows at Purple Haze Lavender. (Jennifer Schneider) A baby deer poking its head out from behind a lavender bush in Sequim, Wash. (Jennifer Schneider) A perfect photo opportunity for visitors to sit on the purple throne in the field at Victors Lavender in Sequim, Wash. (Jennifer Schneider) Bundles of lavender are harvested for sale at Purple Haze Lavender. (Jennifer Schneider) The farm most reminiscent of the landscape in southern France, Jardin du Soleil lavender farm is the ‘America’s Provence.’ (Jennifer Schneider) The entrance of Lavender Connection, a 5 1/2-acre farm that grows 3,000 lavender plants of 40 different varieties in Sequim, Wash. (Jennifer Schneider) A bench at Lavender Connection farm in Sequim, Wash. (Jennifer Schneider) The symphony of lavender rows that make up Purple Haze Lavender Farm. (Jennifer Schneider)
Jennifer Schneider is a classically trained artist who specializes in 19th century art and architecture. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Arts and studied Imaginative Realism full-time at Georgetown Atelier in Seattle. She is a freelance photographer and an arts editor for The Epoch Times and American Essence (AE) magazine.
