Thursday, June 11, 2009

Have a Lavender Day

Let's talk about lavender. When I think of lavender I think of this Robin Bell designed plantation-style room from my November 2007 House Beautiful.


How serene. So was the lavender farm, Ali'i Kula Lavender, we visited last week on the steep slopes of Mount Haleakala in Maui. The farm resides in Kula, 4,000 feet up. And I mean up. On the side of a mountain. I felt tilted the whole time I was there. The temperature was about 15 degrees cooler than the lowcountry. You could see forever.




Ali'i Chang, Lavender Engineer (how cool is that job title?), started the farm in 2002. And I must tell you this because it amazes me... Ali'i is one of 16(!) children.

The farm grows 45 lavender cultivars on about 8 acres. The plants bloom mostly June through August. Only about 18 cultivars were in bloom when we were there. Yet it was still spectacular.

When you mention the farm to any local, they immediately respond with "you must try the lavender scones in the gift shop". My sister and I are not scone fans. Too dry. We relented and bought a lavender scone. We toasted and buttered it. It was the best scone I've ever had. I even bought the scone mix to share them with my husband.

2 comments:

jacjewelry said...

What incredible pictures! The farm looks absolutely heavenly. Now I want to be a Lavender Engineer. Do you think it's too late to change careers?!

Alison Kelley said...

Oh, that lavender room caught my eye, so beautiful! When I think of lavender I think of all the baby products I used to buy with lavender in them to help sought the kids. My favorite was the bath time soap, bath and then off to bed they went. I had no idea that there was such a thing as lavender engineers, how fantastic!

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