Sauvie Island Lavender Farm

Greetings from Sauvie Island Lavender Farm.   

Your year round source for all things lavender.

This time of year can be a bit overwhelming for a small farm like ours.  It is the time of year when we must dust off our work boots, sharpen the pruning loppers, throw on the raingear, and tend to the grapes and fruit trees at the farm. 

Besides lovely lavender, we grown Shiro Yellow Plums, Mulberries, New Century and Hosui Asian Pears, Bartlett Pears, Apples, Figs, Chardonnay Grapes, Cherries, and Kiwi.  Some fruit trees we just have one or two of, but when you add them altogether, there is a whole bunch of pruning to be done. 

So imagine my surprise when I pulled into my driveway after a morning of running errands to find all 150 feet of grapes had been pruned and all the vines hauled away!  I immediately knew who our pruning savior was - our neighbor.

But we have no ordinary neighbor.  In fact, our neighbor is a nursery whose headquarters are located a half a nation away in Minnesota.  Bailey Nursery, Inc. has been in business for over 100 years.  It is still a family owned business with family values and superb employees. 

On Sauvie Island, Bailey has about 2000 acres in nursery stock and they surround two sides of my lavender farm.  They have been tremendously supportive of my farm.  When it came time to plant my lavender a few years back, my husband fell down the stairs and dislocated his shoulder.  Bailey came to the rescue by hooking me up with several of their employees to help me plant our first 800 lavenders.  When I first opened to the public, it was Bailey who came to buy lavender plants to enhance their office landscaping.  And when I was working on a fundraiser to aid a family with a gravely ill child, Bailey called to offer nursery stock to help the cause.

Well a simple thank you just didn’t seem enough for all that Bailey has done for us, so I spent day baking two hundred plus cookies for the entire crew to enjoy.  And I am letting you know of their generosity.  If anyone from Bailey Nursery in Minnesota happens to read this blog – please pass on to the Bailey family how wonderful their nursery crew is out here on Sauvie Island.

Julie

Sauvie Island Lavender Farm 

For those of you new to Sauvie Island Lavender Farm, we are located on one of the largest 

inland islands in the USA.  Sauvie Island is only a few minutes from Portland, Oregon.  

We are a mix of farm lands, nursery lands and protected fish and wildlife lands.  

Sauvie Island receives around two million visitors a year.  That's more than Yosemite 

National Park.  Folks like to visit for a number of reasons.  Favorite activities are 

visiting our sandy beaches, birding, hunting, boating, and visiting the wonderful farms 

and farm markets for fresh picked produce and of course, lavender.  In the dead of winter 

is when we get creative here on the farm.  This is when we head up to the workshop and 

create our wonderful lavender products.  This week, we are working on sewing eye masks 

and matching sachets to sell here at Local Harvest and stock up for our season when the 

farm is open to the public.  Next week we will be busy creating lavender bath salts for 

our customers.  Then it's on to lotions, soaps, massage and bath oils and more!  

RECIPE

Here is a quick and easy lavender recipe that is perfect for a Sunday brunch or tea.

1 Lemon Blueberry Muffin Mix prepared according to directions.

1 Tablespoon dried culinary lavender (any angustifolia or Provence) lightly ground.

Just add the lavender into the batter and bake according to the muffin mix directions.

Enjoy!