Monday, July 23, 2018

Lavender Festival at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield Farms


About five miles from where I live is a wonderful extension of the Denver Botanic Garden at the Denver Botanic Garden Chatfield Farm Chatfield Farm is a 700-acre native plant refuge and a native farm located along the banks of Deer Creek in Littleton, Colorado, at 8500 W. Deer Creek Canyon Road. Facilities include the Earl J. Sinnamon Visitor Center, the historical Hildebrand Ranch, a restored 1918 dairy barn and silo, the 1874 Deer Creek Schoolhouse, 2.5 miles of nature trails, the Deer Creek Discovery children’s play area, and numerous wildflower gardens.  Every mid-July it holds a Lavender Festival. The festival includes lavender demonstrations, live music, craft and food vendors, farm tours, and activities for children. (All photos will enlarge if clicked on)


Since 2015,  Denver Botanic Garden horticulturists have planted thousands of lavender plants at Chatfield Farms. Fourteen different varieties of lavender range from purple to blue to pink to white in color.



As this sign states, Lavender is a new commercial cash crop for the state of Colorado, especially on the Western Slope of Colorado. Lavender is traditionally grown in the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean and in Northern Africa, as it prefers a hot and dry climate with plenty of sunshine. It also does well in Colorado, as we get over 300 sunny days a year and certain areas have the sandy, well-draining soil that lavender loves to grow in.



It was wonderful to walk among the rows of lavender and smell their soothing scent!



Lavandula (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. If you would like to see a Botanic Garden PDF of the varieties and descriptions of the lavender planted at Chatfield Farms click this link.




Lavender has many uses--click on the photos above to read how it has been used throughout the ages and where the name lavender originated.  I grow lavender in my garden and have used the dry buds for culinary uses in cookies and cakes, I also use the buds to make lavender scented sachets for my linen.



We also enjoyed listening to a bluegrass band, browsing the crafts and lavender product booths, and enjoying some food at the festival.

 

Lavender bouquets were very popular items for sale, as well as products made with lavender such as essential oils, soaps, lotions, candles, and honey. There were also jewelry, clothing, pottery, artwork, and other items for sale. We purchased some locally sourced lavender honey. 


We also visited the working farm to see what crops were growing. Produce is sold as part of the Chatfield Farms CSA. The Community Supporting Agriculture program (CSA) is the cornerstone of the Gardens' Urban Food Initiatives, growing seven acres of vegetables, flowers, and fruit for subscribers (shareholders) and farm stands.



We also enjoyed seeing the many beautiful flower gardens throughout Chatfield Farms, including one section where specific flowers were grown to use to dye cloth and threads.




There were also quite a few "Plein air" artists painting the lavender fields and plants.


Beautiful lavender...




...beautiful scenery. 

It was the perfect way to spend a day enjoying the Lavender Festival!


 Judging from all the brand new lavender plants that were planted this year, it looks like the Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms Lavender Festival will continue to grow through the coming years!


Do you like lavender? Do you grow it in your garden? 
If so, what is your favorite way to use your lavender?

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46 comments:

italiafinlandia said...

Pleasant lavender!

Maggie said...

What a wonderful place to visit and experience all those wonderful fragrances, sights and sounds. I so enjoyed walking along those perfectly tended rows of lavender plants with you this morning!
Happy Mosaic Monday.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, beautiful images from the Lavender festival. I love the scent of lavender, one of the few that does not bother my allergies. The farm has a beautiful garden with lovely blooms. We had a rainy spring and the lavender farms here did not do well. Have a happy day and new week!

Snap said...

I love lavender and have had the lavender fields in the NW on my "want" to see list. Colorado is closer!!!! Watch out for me! Ha! (Love this post in case you can't tell.....)

Life Images by Jill said...

Oh I love lavender, so a lavender festival would be for me! What a wonderful way to spend a day. Though I did go to a lavender coffee shop once and the perfume of the lavender everywhere got a bit much after a while. Have a lovely week. I am joining you today from Mosaic Monday.

candy said...

Going to a lavender festival is something I would enjoy. Found you on Grandma's Brief link party.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I would be in heaven there, wouldn't I? I love the scent and the color too! I use a lot of lavender scented bath products. I like Lavender and Vanilla together. Beautiful photos....I'll go look at them AGAIN! Hugs!

Tamar SB said...

I can smell it from here!

A Colorful World said...

Oh what a joy, getting to go there! I know you loved it. I enjoyed the wonderful photos. We tried to visit a small lavender farm recently but I got the days wrong and they were closed. I was still able to get a few photos. Lavender is one of my absolute favorites! I have three small plants. Hope to get more!

Ida said...

What a picturesque setting. - We have a Lavender farm here but sadly I've never been to it.

Taken For Granted said...

I can almost smell the scent of lavender from your photos.

Linda W. said...

All that lavender is lovely! There are a few lavender farms here in Oregon too.

Lorrie said...

Lavender fields are so picturesque. I think there are some around here, but I've never visited them. I do have several lavender plants in my garden and dry the flowers for sachets for my linen closet.

Ruth Hiebert said...

That must have been a delight to the eyes and the senses.I like how each plant has the beautiful rounded shape.

jeannettestgermain said...

Oh lavender - always try to have some in my house - it keeps bugs away and smells wonderful. Thank you for sharing this event with All Seasons, Pat!
Were the plein air painters painting, or were they showing their work? Am curious about the flowers to dye cloth:)
Thank you for well wishing of my niece, and have a lovely week!

Botanic Bleu said...

I would love to visit these lavender fields. Thank you for sharing them and the link to all the species' descriptions.

Judith

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Doesn't it smell absolutely scrumptious!!! Beautiful Festival ... much larger scale than the small one we enjoyed up the McKenzie last week .... it quite surprises me that lavender does so well here in our cool damp climate, but the rows looked pretty much the same as yours, albeit fewer of them! The CSA is a great thing; I love all that they are doing. I didn't know the Denver Botanical Garden had this "annex".

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Well, I might have to figure out how to get to Littleton about this time next year. I love all things lavender especially the aroma and the color. I have had a lavender farm on my bucket list for some time and now I find out that it is more doable than I thought.

betty-NZ said...

What a fun time out! I had no idea there were so many different kinds of lavender!

Andrea said...

That would be awesome, seeing those lines and lines of different lavender colors. What is in my mind are those in photos in France with very long lines of purple lavenders. When i went to Strasbourg i hoped to see that but didn't. So i was able to see a sample of those while walking through a road in NZ, a private property leading to a gallery. That assuaged my dream of being in a lavender field.

Jojo said...

So beautiful!!!! I have one lavender plant but this makes me want to plant more. The mass plantings in bloom just capture the imagination. In fact I think I can smell the fragrance!

Jeanie said...

I would go simply bonkers here, I love lavender so much. I only have one plant (I used to have a larger one but it didn't winter) so the extent of using it is plucking the flowers now and then for an indoor bouquet. But I'll often use that fragrance in soaps and such. What a great day!

Lady Fi said...

What a delight! I bet the farm smelled amazing too.

Photo Cache said...

I can almost smell lavender!

Worth a Thousand Words

Fun60 said...

What a lovely idea to hold a lavender festival.

Lowcarb team member said...

Isn't Lavender wonderful!
This looks a great place to visit, I enjoyed seeing all of your lovely photographs.
Thank you.

All the best Jan

Rambling Woods said...

Wow..You can almost smell it..I tried growing it, but it didn't work here..Lovely photos...Michelle

elizabeth said...

Oh, how I love lavender!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Oh my gosh it must have smelled sooooo good.

Peabea Scribbles said...

How lovely to view all that Lavender all together. Who doesn't love the Lavender fragrance. yum...

Peabea from Peabea Scribbles

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

I can just imagine the fragrance!

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

What a lovely way to spend the day.
Lavender field are so gorgeous.

Sandi Magle said...

Wonderful photos and stories, thanks so much for posting this great event!

Sarah said...

Looks like a fantastic event. I love lavender and keep it by my beside and in our guest rooms. It is so soothing and relaxing. Thanks for sharing.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

Oh Pat - How funny. I am just seeing your post now for the first time, after having visited a lavender farm locally only a few days ago. The one you went to looks gorgeous.

Angie said...

I don't currently grow lavender at our house, but it sounds like it would do well in the dry climate we have in Montana - I will add it to my list of plants to try. I love this sort of festival, that has its roots (pun intended) in gardening/agriculture, with other elements such as music, art and food, added in. Fabulous. Enjoy your upcoming weekend!

Sharon said...

How beautiful! I thought from the thumbnail photo that you were in Provence! I can imagine the fragrance, too. I had no idea Denver had so much lavender.

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Looks like a beautiful spot! I've never heard of lavender honey. Sounds interesting!!

Joyful said...

Beautiful! I just love lavender.

Jim said...

Very beautiful.

A Bit of the Blarney said...

OH my, I don' think I've ever seen so much lavender. I bet it was a wonderfully aromatic experience! Have a wonderful weekend!

Kippi O'Hern said...

Amazing post on one of my favorite things: lavender. I want to visit next year for lavender event. Luck you to live so close. Happy Summer, Kippi

Angelina at Petite Haus said...

Very much enjoyed your lavender festival! So lovely I can almost smell it over here! Thanks for sharing with Thursday Favorite Things!

Anonymous said...

Love this post about the Lavender Festival! Thanks so much for sharing with us at the Whimsical Wednesdays Link Party!

Amber Lyon Ferguson said...

This looks like so much fun! Lavender is my favorite plant! I am featuring you today at Thursday Favorite Things. Thanks for sharing!

https://followtheyellowbrickhome.com/enjoying-summer-splendor-at-thursday-favorite-things/

mvmaithai said...

Love lavender! It grows quite well in TN. I have bought some to make bath salt and spray.