The road is almost completed.  Yes, almost done!  By this coming spring we should be able to use it on a daily basis. But before spring it's the holiday season. Kathy is working hard on new products and Jack is getting the booth ready for the Lawrence Holiday Farmers Market, Saturday December 8th at the Lawarence Holiday Inn Holidome.  It should be a terrific event with more than 55 Farmers' Market vendors.  From handmade clothes, hats, gloves and scarves to great foods, wreaths and veggies for the holiday season---and of course lavender sachets, dryer sheets and eye pillows!  We hope you all will be able to stop by and say hello.

     Kathy and Jack wish you all the best for a happy holiday season and a terrific 2013! 

     Much more to come...
 

October 25, 2012 update
     This has been an exciting fall.  First the road to the lavender field has been started.  Yes, after more than a year of planning, permitting(if there is such a word), and scheduling, it is now underway.  We hope by Thanksgiving to have it completed.  
     Second, we are sponsoring Kim Murphree’s daily show and Jeremy Taylor’s About the House program both on KLWN, 1320 AM from now until sometime in December.  These folks are just super and we hope you will be able to tune in(either on your radio or on the net.  We are on with Kim on Tuesday’s from 7:30 to 8:00 AM and with Jeremy on Saturdays between 9:30 and 11 AM.
     Coming up later this fall on November 17th we will be at the last Lawrence Farmers Market for the regular season, at Au Marche on Mass. st. in downtown Lawrence and at Pendleton’s Country Market on both the 17th and 18th.  Plus we will be doing the Lawrence Farmers markets on October 27th, November 3rd and November 10th.  We will throw in a couple of Kansas City Markets and of course the Lawrence Holiday Farmers Market on December 8th just to round things out.  A busy, busy fall but great fun!
     More to come...

September 26, update...
     Summer is behind us.  The fields are harvested.  And now it is time to look at the beautiful color of the fall trees and get ready for the holidays; however, lots of things happening before we get to the holidays.
     A quick update on the road.  We hope to see dirt moved in early October.  So, depending on when you are reading this update we may be well on our way to Lavender Way! 

       The Douglas County Farm Tour is the October 6^th weekend and we are excited and pleased that John & Karen Pendleton of Pendleton’s Country Market have asked us to be at their farm during the Farm Tour weekend with our lavender products.  We are honored and a big thank you to them!
       The Lawrence Farmers Market will continue until November 17^th and we will be there!  Also, we will be at The City Market in Kansas City a number of times before the holiday season so please check our Facebook page for additional updates.
       And coming up on December 8^th is the Lawrence Farmers Holiday Market at the Holidome in Lawrence from 9 AM to 5 PM.  More than 60 vendors will be there with great gifts for the holidays.
       If you have an extra moment please take a look at our revamped lavender store.  We hope when you are looking for that special holiday gift that you will consider one of our lavender products (Here comes the sales pitch).  They are hand made, hand painted and we are certified organic.  So please take a peak if you have time.
       And finally, we are in the process of laying out our new drying barn that we hope to build in early spring.  We have out grown our drying space and need much more room.  What fun!  A lot to do between now and next summer!  

     More to come and thank you for your continued support!...

September 1, update...
The summer is almost over, even though it still is in the nineties; we have had some rain, the hoop house ground is ready for planting and we are ready to break ground for the new road.  Whew, what a month!
     All things seem to run in fits and starts and we hope we are now in the "starts" phase.  With the help of some great folks, Ray, Henry, Bear, Tom, Jess and Jen to name just a few, the hoop house is ready for lavender plants.  The folks gave of their time and expertise and we can not thank them enough!  We will start planting in mid-October and it should be great fun and it gives us a jump on next spring(we hope).
     Kathy has been stripping lavender and sewing lots of products to get ready for this fall.  She has once again developed a new product...a "Dogdanna" a bandanna with a lavender insert for dogs.  Pictures will be up soon!
     We were not at the markets for the last two weeks of August due to rain.  Yes, Rain!  Our lavender products do not do well in the rain so we had to take a pass on going to the markets.  The lavender in the fields however, love it!
     Road construction looks like it will begin in mid-September.  We are poised for the movement of the first bulldozer.  We just can't wait.
     And so, it is back to the fields for Jack and back to the sewing machine for Kathy!
     More to come...



August 1, update...

     We are surviving the drought, but just!  For the first time we have had to put in a basic irrigation system.  It will help a bit; however, we are not able to get it to all the plants.  It is really a wait-and-see game.
     As for the hoop house, we have made major progress.  It does however seem like it is a "life-time" project; but no, we "will" have it completed by mid-August.  We must!!  
     The road up the hill progresses.  Well, it moves along through the final planning stages.  We hope to have it started later this month and then completed a few weeks after that.  It now is a race between the hoop house and the road!
     We met with the folks at the state tourism department and the Lawrence Convention Center and they were super.  Lots of tips, suggestions, and real worthwhile help.  They are all a great resource.
     Again, we hope you will consider our products for holiday gifts.  Honest, it is not too early to think about that.  In mere moments it will be......... 
     And so, it is back to the fields, finish the hoop house, and then drive up the road with our windshield wipers going.  One can only wish.  Until next time...


July 9th update...

     The lavender harvest is complete!  A big thank you to all the folks who worked to bring in our 2012 crop.  Even with the extreme heat we have had a bumper crop with the drying room being filled more than twice. 

     Our plants from the recent planting seem to be surviving.  We have lost a number but the vast majority is holding on.  We will post pictures.  The difference between lavender in full bloom and “bald” plants is amazing.

     Our high tunnel/hoop house is more than two-thirds complete.  All the steel work is up and now it’s the side curtains and then the top and ends and in another couple of weeks we should be finished(did not make June 30th!).

     We are still on track to have our road put in before the end of the year so we may have The First Annual Lawrence Lavender Festival in June of 2013.  If we don’t plan it won’t happen so we are moving forward and look forward to a super time.

     And finally, it is not too early to start thinking about that special gift for the holidays.  I can hear many of you saying, “Oh yes it is too early.”  But why not get out ahead of the rush and give lavender for the holidays.  Jack has “Deck the Halls” as his ring tone.  Some people ask if he forgot to take it off and he tells them he is early for this year.  The truth is he has it on there ALL the time.

     Until later...

June 11, 2012...Just had to call your attention to the article in the Lawrence Journal World this past Sunday, June 10, 2012.  We think Jennifer Smith did a great job capturing our venture and we thank her for taking the time to come out to the farm. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/jun/10/garden-calendar-lavender-farm-making-purple-waves/

 On another note, harvesting starts in earnest this week so we will be up to our eye balls in Lavender...YES!!  Hoop House construction is moving forward and we hope to have it completed by June 30! 

More to come...

...And so Friday June 8 is here and we are getting reading for the Lawrence Farmers Market.  The Grosso Lavender is in bloom and we will be taking many "bunches" to the market.  Our hoop house is coming along.  This weekend we should have the rest of the perlins up and much of the wood installed(operative word here is "should."  This has turned out to be quite a task.  Fun, but a real interesting challenge).We have just finished planting nearly 2,000 new plants--Grosso and Buena Vista.  Both will have a beautiful hue and yet look very different.  Grosso has an elegant long stem with tight buds while Buena Vista is much shorter and has a more open flower; both are beautiful and delightful.  Our road to the top of the hill has not been started as of yet; however we are getting closer to the beginning of construction.  We hope to have it completed for next year so we may start an annual Lavender Festival in Lawrence.  We hope putting this at the top makes it easier to find and we thank you for your continued interest in Washington Creek Lavender. 

More to come...

For more than 30 years, Kathy Sanders was one of the United States leading food photographers. With more than 100 covers on Better Homes and Gardens publications and having shot for nearly all the major food clients, she was at the top of her game in 2003. Jack Wilson, her husband, was a television producer with 11 national PBS specials under his belt and more than 70 business-to-business training DVDs for sale in the international marketplace. Living in a loft in Chicago life was good! Something however was missing. And that was the outdoors. Both Kathy and Jack liked being outside. Yes you certainly could be outside in Chicago but you couldn’t really get your hands dirty like they wanted to do.

So, in 2004 they moved to Lawrence Kansas, Kathy's hometown and bought some land. They built a log home and started growing vegetables. The gods did not shine down on this venture— rainstorms, hale and high winds stopped it very quickly. So what to do?

The land was tested and it seemed to be perfect for two things— grapes and lavender and after much reading and study lavender won out as the crop of choice. But what type of lavender and would it really grow in Kansas? Seven different lavender types were tested and one won out.

To be continued...

...And Grosso was chosen, a French lavender with a great fragrance and a beautiful flower. Others were selected as well to include Gros Blue, Edelweiss, Beuna Vista, and Melissa each with a different smell and look from pink to white to deep purple.

The first year nearly 2,000 plants were put in the ground. Make no small dreams seemed to be the motto. But what about deer and rabbits and hail and high winds, and, and, and? Well luck was there. Rabbits and deer don’t bother the lavender, and the plants are short enough so the high winds don’t seem to bother it. As for hail, well so far it too seems to be gentle to the lavender.

Lavender began growing and the field developed that beautiful purple glow that everyone thinks of when they picture lavender. That’s great but now that it’s growing what can be done with it? The old marketing theory of “have a market” before you build a product seemed to have been thrown out the window. Well yes and no. The land really had to prove that it would allow the lavender to grow, in quantity, before a major marketing plan could be developed. OK, so maybe that is not quite true but at least it was the idea. But what products to make? How to make them? And most of all who will make them!?

To be continued...

...We had the land and we knew the lavender would grow (hopefully) and now, what to do with it? Kathy again stepped up. She had a list of products she wanted to develop and was going to make them--herself! Yes, she planted and harvested and now was going to make the products as well.

The first product was a 1/2 oz sachet and then a full oz. To make them unique Kathy painted a sprig of lavender on each bag. A two-color job and all painted by hand--no printing or stamp here, all by hand.

In a weak moment Jack volunteered to paint as well. This was not a real success and after eight or nine bags Kathy suggested that he go have a soda (she has kept the bags just incase Jack wants to try it again!).

Then came the neck comforters. Kathy kept testing and talking to customers and came up with lots of innovations; the comforter was segmented so all the lavender would not run to the bottom. Finger “grips” were put on each end to make them easier to grasp. And finally, the outer cover was removable for easy cleaning. When selling them we explain that they may be put in the microwave oven and heated for 30 to 40 seconds to make them work even better. One customer tried to put theirs in for 6 minutes and said it smelled like popcorn. Oops!! Not a good idea!!

Next were the eye pillows. Smooth on one side and and rougher on the other. These too may be placed in the microwave for a very short period of time or placed in the refrigerator to cool them down. Our customers tell us they are great sleep aids and really help relieve headaches.

Dryer sheets came next, three in a pack, and as of this writing 39 customers have told us they have been using them in their dryers for more than a year (two have told us more than two years!). Again, a Kathy design and a neat product. They also may be put in pillows, since they are flat, as a sleep aide.

Now we had the products (and more to come about our new ones) but where to sell them.

Again. To be continued...

Yes, there are more new products. Kathy was at it again and designed a set of coasters in all sorts of colors, each with a lavender insert. So, when you set your hot mug of coffee, tea or hot chocolate on them, they release the scent of lavender. And, she even designed one for coffee or tea pots to do the same thing! Again, Jack was happy to be out in the fields when Kathy came up with this idea.

Oh yes, there is still another new product, “A yard of lavender.” Thirty-six inches of lavender divided into three inch squares. All in a long line and double stitched between each square so they may be cut and used in drawers or put in your pillow as a sleep aide.

And finally there are the fire starters to use in your fire place. When the lavender is stripped from the stems the stems are saved and bundled together to use in your fireplace. The bottoms have been cut square so they may also be used as a decoration (no sense seeing money go up in flames!).

Then came the question: “Where to sell the products?” First came the Lawrence Farmers Market. What a terrific group of vendors and customers. Every vendor has been so helpful in showing us the ropes and helping us set up in the dark. Jack still has trouble getting the picture centered that hangs on the booth so Jill of Moon on the Meadow (the vendor next to us) has to stand there every Saturday (if Kathy is coming later) and direct the hanging. It becomes even more funny every week. Then there is Don Flory with his hot cups of coffee that gets us all through the early hours. John and Karen Pendleton have been just incredible with their help, and there is Tom and Stephanie (they got married on our land this summer), Emu Annie, Kathy Hagen, Mike and Kitty Glass, Jozie and Brian and so, so many more. Again, what a great group!

The summer of 2010 found us with our own permanent space (we were floaters for three years— up at 4 am to make sure we got a spot-now we can sleep in on Saturdays until 4:30, wheee!).

The next big selling event will be the Holiday Market at the Holiday Inn Holidome, 200 McDonald Drive in Lawrence on December 11 from 9 am to 5 pm. Should be great fun and nearly all the vendors will be there.

To be continued...

Well the Holiday Market was a success and we have made it through one of the coldest and snowy winters we can remember. Or, are we just getting older and "each" winter seems worse than the last one?

Now it is spring and we are gearing up for the Farmers Market and getting ready to plant another 2,500 lavender plants. This will give us a total of nearly 6,000 plants. The land was tilled in late fall and should be ready to receive the little organic starters in late May to early June. The tractor has been serviced or should we say tractors. We now have a small John Deere and an old (don't let it hear us call it old) 1949 Ford 8N.

Kathy is busy working on product and getting ready to plant. Jack has been up on the hill doing some additional tilling. The land is just about ready; however, each time it rains it sets back the tilling schedule.

Our products are now available at The Merc and at Pendleton's Country Market, at the HyVee on 23rd when the construction is completed, and here on our web site.

To be continued...

Much has happened in the last few months. Our starter plants arrived all perky and ready to go in the ground. As we have mentioned before we get the starters from Oregon and they are all organic. Speaking of organic we are now officially certified organic. We have always grown our plants organically but never went through the "official" process--soil testing, visit by the certifier, etc. They loved the land and so we are OFFICIAL; but, we digress.

The plants arrived after surviving one of he coldest winters/early springs they have had in Oregon. They came into one of the hottest springs we have had in Lawrence. And so, the plants were shocked. Shocked so much that more than 1/2 of them died before we had a chance to get them in the ground. They were shocked and so were we! Many that were planted survived and now we hope they will survive the winter(they had less of a deep root growth than in the past as a result of the cold spring in Oregon so this may be a problem).

We are now back at the Lawrence Farmers Market after taking a few weeks off for a family emergency. All seems to be well and we are looking forward to a super fall!

Kathy is working on some new products. One is a holiday ornament for the Christmas tree-- a ginger bread man filled with lavender. What a great combination of fragrances--pine and lavender. We will have pictures up in a week or so. We also will have some new video up as well!

We have some great plans for 2012 but we will keep those secret until they are finalized. What fun.

To be continued....

Fall is nearly over and winter is fast approaching. The trees are almost bare and the lavender plants seem to be tucking their little heads down to face the tough Kansas winter winds. Still, given all of this it is a beautiful and breath taking sight to look out over he lavender fields and know that we have made this happen! Only a few weeks until the new year and we are all now in the middle of the holiday season; good meals, presents, and great friendships rekindled.

We are so excited to be "doing what we are doing"---raising lavender and making all of our own products right here in America! People are talking on television about how important it is to buy American made products and we agree. To this end for our local friends we will be at the Lawrence Farmers Holiday Market Saturday, December 10th at the Lawrence Holiday Inn. We hope you can come by and say hello and maybe pick up that gift for that "special" person.

To you and yours we wish you the happiest of holidays and a terrific New Year!

To be continued...

And so a new year is upon us!  Can you believe the winter; less than 3" of snow for the entire season(as of today).  We hope this is not confusing the lavender.  It certainly has the Daffys messed up.  They are nearly 5" tall and just about ready to bloom.  Hope it does not freeze for a while.

When last we were here we said their were some surprizes and we would let you know later if they were going to happen.  Well it seems like they will.  We are planning to increase the number of lavender plants we have in the ground from about 4,500 to upwards of 10,000.  And, we are in the process of putting in a new road to increase access to the lavender fields  and hopefully make it easier for you to come and share the beauty and fragrance of our lavender.  This will take a while but we look forward  to having the road in and working by harvest time in late June.  If this works we hope to have a mini lavender festival some time in mid summer.  "Hope" is the operative word.  The festival will depend on weather, the road and our ability to pull it together.  So, along with us please keep your fingers crossed.

We again will be at the Lawrence Farmers Market this summer in our same location(we have applied and hope to hear soon).

Once again, we thank you for your continued interest in Washington Creek Lavender and we look forward to seeing many of you this summer.

To be continued...

Well, as we said when last we were here “stay tuned” for what is coming next.  We have good news and news that is not as good as we would like it; yet, good anyway.  Make sense?  We hope so!

First, the real good news.  Our plants are on schedule and we look to plant another 2,500 lavender plants in late May/early June.  We are excited and will give you an accurate count on how many we have in the ground as the planting is completed(between six and seven thousand).

And more real good news, our Hoop House was delivered and we will have that up and completed by June 30. It comes in pieces and we have to assemble it.  A real task but we are really looking forward to doing it.  A couple of weeks ago we helped put one up at Red Tractor Farm.  Jess and Jen were terrific to work with and they had nearly 30 poeple helping.  A great experience!   Having the Hoop House is really exciting as it will give us a chance to propagate  our own plants. If you wish to help us put it up please give us a shout!

Now the not nearly as good news as we had hoped but still good news anyway!  We have been approved for our road and new entrance; however, this took a “bit” more time than we had anticipated so we are going to have to hold off on the Lavender Festival until next year.  We are disappointed; however, pleased that we have made the progress toward completing the road.

And finally, more good news, we will be back at the Lawrence Farmers Market beginning April 14th.  We have the same stall so when you walk in the west entrance walk straight forward to the westend of the east lot(next to Moon Over the Meadow) and there we are.

More to come later on our new products and where else we will be selling them.  Talk with you soon...

May 1, 2012...

Spring is here and so summer may be as well.  The lavender plants don’t seem to know what to make of the early warm weather so they have decided that it IS summer and they are going to bloom.  Many of the plants may be as much as a month early.  Wow, who would have guessed?  This means that within the next few weeks we will probably be harvesting some of the “early bloomers!”

Other news...Our Hoop House arrived(in parts of course) and we have begun the construction process.  We helped Jess and Jen at Red Tractor Farm with theirs so we learned a ton(also learned about muscles we did not know we had).  

And finally the Lawrence Farmers Market is open.  We have been in a “soft” opening, whatever that is for the first three weeks and on May 5 all begins(or began depending upon when you are reading this).  We look forward to seeing our old friends and making new ones at this year’s market.  

Another, “and!” We had the 57th customer come by the booth at the market on April 28th and tell us they have been using our Organic Lavender Dryer Sheets for more than a year.  They really do work!!!

Until next time...

May 28, 2012... 

What a month May has been!  First, we have gained momentum on building our 96’ x 20’ High Tunnel/Hoop House.  We have all the posts and the hoops up!  Our great thanks to Henry Nieder for all of his help. The wood arrived this past weekend and so you can see how we are spending our holiday!

New starter plants have been ordered(2,500) and we will plant them the first week in June.  A number of new varieties but more about that as they get in the ground.

We have begun to harvest some of the “early birds, ' the Buena Vista and Melissa (both of which may be used for culinary purposes) and we will be taking them to the Lawrence Farmers Market.  We are excited about this summer and look forward to seeing all of our old friends and making new ones.

Our major harvest will probably be the first two weeks of June.  Very early this year as weather has been so warm.

More to come...