Ian and Elizabeth Get Married!

Remember Ian and Elizabeth (read more)...

He popped the question...

and she said Yes!

They got Married!

The lavender in Elizabeth's bouquet came from our farm.

and also a few sprigs of lavender for their napkin/menu place cards.

They also purchased 70 of our travel size, lavender spray for their visiting guests gift bags.

Their reception was held at Anyela's Vineyard which is about 2 miles from our farm. 

We wish them love and happiness for many years to come!

U Pick Lavender this Weekend

 Dark Supreme Lavender will be available to pick this weekend.  Join us!  $5 per bouquet.

 Folgate is also available.  It's great for making sachets!

It will be a beautiful weekend.  Take a  breath taking ride out to the farm.  We are located 7 miles outside the village of Skaneateles.  

Lavender Plant Sale Starts Saturday, June 2

Lockwood Lavender Farm will be selling (cash or check) Royal Velvet Lavender plants while the supply last for $5.00 each to benefit the Skaneateles Fire Department on Saturday, June 2nd, 9:00.   This sale is held at the farm, first come, first served.  

Royal Velvet Lavender has deep purple flower spikes and is hardy to our zone 5. It can be harvested fresh as a bouquet and dries well. The buds can be used for culinary purposes or aromatherapy.

We will also be offering a workshop on how to grow lavender successfully on Saturday, June 2nd at 1:00 rain or shine. 

We will highlight:

Choosing the Right Plants and Varieties

Soil Preparation

Initial Planting and Maintenance

Techniques for Harvesting and Pruning

Our Lavender Market featuring over 30 lavender and honey products will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 9 - 4.

Always moving forward...

Several weeks ago Lockwood Lavender Farm was awarded the Small Business Excellence Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration.  A big thank you goes to Joanne Lenweaver and WISE Women Center for nominating me, their support and inspiring me in creating this dream. 

Two years ago Joanne invited me to participate in the Creative Business Roundtable discussion group.  What I call, my business therapy.  I would often leave the center after a thought provoking discussion and not remember how I got home.  Though the centers encouragement I am developing a business that I can see grow every day.  I hope this award encourages others in agriculture to develop their business beyond the farm.  

And the business moves forward...

Our lavender drying barn is finally under construction.  After our lavender is cut and bundled and placed on a paperclip they will be hung in the loft and on stringer thought out the barn. The darkness of the barn will help the lavender retain its color, and drying it upside down helps retain its blossom shape.

 Love post and beam barns.

 Gary gives a helping hand in lifting the trusses.

  The project should been done this week.

Being Gary!  Now their is a blog post all on its own.  Gary cooked lunch for all the guys on the construction site.  He's that kind of guy.

Love this view from the loft of the new barn.

We welcomed the City View and Fayetteville Garden Clubs this week.

If you have a Garden Club or Organization that would like to visit and learn about growing lavender give us a call (315-685-5369) or email us (lockwoodfarm@aol.com).

WCNY Tel-Auc

WCNY  Public Broadcasting station will be holding their Tel-Auc starting April 16th.  This fundraising event is something I have been watching for years waiting for that perfect item to bid on.  We are so excited to be participating this year by donating a gift basket full of our lavender and honey products. If you are a PBS viewer you know this is a great cause.

Spring!

Definition of 'spring' Princeton's WordNet

1. (noun) spring, springtime  the season of growth "the emerging buds were a sure sign of spring"; "he will hold office until the spring of next year" This time of  year always brings new life and growth on the farm.  Whether it's new baby lambs, healthy bee hives, new ideas, Yes, Luffa is a gourd.  These fun Rhythm Wands will be available at our Lavender Market in May. Check out some of our new lavender products.   Visit us at 14th Annual Celebration of the Senses  at Carol Watson Greehouse in LaFayette, NY  on Saturday, March 31st and Sunday, April 1st  and VaVa Bloom at Dickman Farms Greenhouse and Garden Center in Auburn, NY  on Saturday, April 14th and Sunday, April 15th.  new projects, Kids don't try this at home and please don't tell my Mom. and future growth.  Going  Going Gone! As much as I hate to see this old tree gone it is the site of our new drying barn and new lavender field.  Construction will start in April. Our Lavender Market will be opening soon and watch for more  information on our Royal Velvet Lavender Plants sale.  So as we spring forward we hope you will  visit us during our growing season and watch us grow.

Portraits at Lockwood Lavender Farm

Lockwood Lavender Farm and Janet Lee Photography is offering an opportunity to have your family, student or engagement portrait taken in our lavender field on selected dates in June.
Your 30 minute Photo Session includes:
1 8x12, 
2 5x7's 
And a  private gallery from which to order more prints and canvas wraps for $95.  This session is valued at $225.
Book early for $85, deadline April 15th.

This is a great opportunity to have a professional photo taken among our lavender in full bloom.

Lavender Wedding

One of the reasons Gary and I started growing lavender was because I wanted the fragrance and color in my wedding bouquet and in our floral arrangements for the reception.  Who knew 11 years later we would have over 2000 plants and helping others in decorating their own wedding.  

One of our many brides, Emily Lamarche visited our farm last year and picked her own bouquets of lavender for her July wedding.  I got caught up in the excitement of her wedding plans and how she was going to use the bouquets for her bridesmaids.  I was so thrilled to receive her wedding photos it brought back so many memories of my own wedding.

True lavender flowers have their own special meaning.  When given as a gift, lavender represent purity, silence and luck.  Lavender also convey a message of devotion, love and fidelity.

I love Emily's choice in bridesmaid dresses.

Beautiful bride and wedding party.  Thanks Emily for sharing!
Here are some ways to use lavender in your wedding.

For the Ceremony

1. Dried lavender buds for the flower girl to strew down the aisle fills the space with scent. As the bridesmaids follow, stepping on the buds releases even more fragrance to last the ceremony. (No one ever objects to the lingering scent of dried lavender in the vacuum cleaner)

2. Lavender buds in the ring bearers pillow scent the ceremony.  The pillow fragrance will last forever and can find a place on your bed to hold the memory and freshen your linens.

3. Bunches of dried lavender tied with big bows at each pew or row of chairs. 

4. Consider a Unity or Promise Candle made with lavender and soy wax to light at the wedding and anniversaries everafter.

5. Fresh or dried lavender in the Bridal and Bridesmaids bouquet for color and fragrance. 

6. As a wedding toss, dried lavender in little net bags can be given to each guest to toss at the departing Bride and Groom. It is a soft and fragrant toss that will not offend humans or birds.

For the Reception

7. Dried lavender mini-bouquets to attach to place cards give a rush of lavender scent as your guests arrive and also become an inexpensive keepsake.  Layer the natural fragrance with lavender stems in table arrangements from bud vase size to large arrangements.  

8. Lavender can enhance the food and beverage served at the Reception. Many delicious recipes are available to make lavender scented Cakes, ice cream, cookies and punch. A sprig of lavender in a glass of champagne makes a wonderful aperitif, for example.

After the Wedding

9. Store your wedding gown in a cloth bag or a large box with acid free paper and tuck in a lavender sachet to keep mustiness and moths away. Tuck lavender scented shoe stuffers into your shoes to keep them looking new and fresh.

10.  Send guests a thank you note with pressed lavender stems applied to stationary, or consider decorating your invitations, programs and thank you notes.

We would love to hear stories of how you brought lavender into your wedding!

It's a Girl!

Another black lamb was born yesterday and I had the opportunity to video a little mother and daughter communication. You can hear them baa to each other.

Sheep use smell in a number of ways. One way that is often observed is when smell is
used to identify other sheep, particularly when a ewe uses smell to pick out her lamb.

Ewes will stand during or shortly after the birth of their lamb and begin to nuzzle and lick.  This period, referred to as the "critical period" it is an important time for them to establish the maternal/offspring bond.  The licking/cleaning behavior, serves to stimulate the lamb while also drying it.  The cleaning is probably also part of the initial bonding process and is typically accompanied by low-pitched, gurgling vocalizations.  Lambs learn to recognize the characteristic voice of their Moms.

Winter Has Arrived!

Winter has officially arrived on Lockwood Farm. Up until this week we have had some unseasonably warm and mild weather.  But now snow and cold temperatures have finally arrived.

Although I am not a fan of winter I have to admit it is beautiful and cuddling with your favorite someone to keep you warm is nice.  But it is the winters of my youth that this weather brings back so many memories.  Wearing plastic bags inside your shoe boots so your feet didn't get wet, dressing with so many layers you couldn't move.  Playing outside making snow forts, ice skating, sledding and snowball fights.  We (the kids on Beech Street) would play outside all day until we went through several pairs of mittens and socks.

Do you remember the blizzard of 66?  I do!

 Vapors off Skaneateles Lake. This view always takes my breath away.

Before winter hits we cover our hives to keep the bees warm.  Having them wrapped can mean the difference between life and death for weaker colonies and good development in the rest.  They will feed off of the honey that has been left in the hives until spring.

 The lavender is now under a blanket of snow insulated from this mornings 6 degree temperature.

And even Grace is enjoying her first winter with us.  Although she is finding it hard to sniff out deer tracks she is having fun running and biting the snow.  It's hard to get her to come inside.

Winter always brings surprise and excitement in the barn.  Yesterday a new black baby lamb was born and I hope to take some picture sometime today. 

 Grace and I have been putting our thinking caps on and coming up with new ideas for the Finger Lakes Lavender Festival.  New artist, food and a few surprises have been planned.  Stay tuned!  To receive up to date information like us on facebook.

Hello Santa!

Growing up my Mom aways added her special touches to Christmas. She would make a faux fireplace out of corrugated brick paper wrapped around a bookcase so we could hang our socks (not fancy stocking you buy at the store) for Santa to fill which would always have a clementines in the toe.  She made sure  Springerle cookies were made from my grandmothers lead German Springerle cookie mold. Even if the family recipe would make 10 dozen cookies and were hard as rocks. My Mom called them dunking cookies.  I think decorating the house with her ceramic village, holly garland and door decoration was her favorite thing to do to get in the spirit.

But my favorite holiday treat was when she would paint Santa on the picture window of our house.  She would find a graphic picture from our local newspaper and paint the image in reverse so it would be visable from the road.   Starting with the outline first and filling in the details.  Making sure Santa had a red, cherry nose.
Two years ago all I wanted for Christmas was once again she would paint a rendition on paper.  And once again my Mom was there.   It was a very emotional moment that brought back so many memories of my childhood.

My Mom is now 89 years and her memory is failing her, but her spirit and love of the holiday will always be here in my heart. I often wonder what memories my children will cherish.

Happy Holiday's from Lockwood Farm

Autumn

It was calm, quiet and serene, as I strolled around our farm this morning having to admit to myself that the fall season is quickly coming to a end.

The corn has been harvested.

and the lavender is resting.

I am resigned to the fact that I will be spending a great deal of my time inside during the winter months. Watching over mounds of snow piling up over our lavender.  Did I mention that I hate winter.  I hate being cold and having to wear layers and layers of clothes to the point that you can't move. But I have enough to keep me busy planning next years lavender festival, new landscaping ideas and hopefully a new educational and drying barn. Our goal on the farm is to hold workshops and educate the public about agriculture in our area.  I hope it's more than just a dream. 

We changed our lambing season this year and decided to have them in the fall instead of the spring.  Plus one the Rams got out of his pen and we just let him stay.  

So for the next couple of weeks we will be seeing a lot of these little cuties.

And hopefully not to many will need some assistance.

All of our fall Autumn Harvest honey has been harvested.  And the hives will be wrapped with construction paper today to keep the hives warm during our cold winter.

You can find our Summer Bouquet honey while supplies last at:  The Sherwood Inn, Fennell Market and Creekside Books & Coffee.  Our Autumn Harvest honey is also available upon request.

Make sure you  check out Lockwood Lavender Farm products displayed at Creekside Books & Coffee.  They have a full line of  our lavender products.  If they are out of stock of a item please let them know and they can order it for you.

And watch for more products on ETSY.

It's been a beautiful and fulfilling season.

But it's time to take a much needed rest.

Even Grace is dreaming of  days she can run in the lavender field again.

Next weeks blog:  It's A Wonderful...Shop