Lavender Farm at Daylesford-Hepburn Springs

Hepburn Springs near Daylesford in Central Victoria, is the perfect place for a lavender farm. The property was originally settled by Italian-Swiss farmers in the 1860s.

They grew olives, vines and other traditional crops to sustain them through winter. It’s an area that’s rich in history with farmhouses clustered around a cobbled courtyard, surrounded by olive groves, grape vines and lavender fields.

Carol White knows a lot about lavender. In the 1990s, to escape city life, she decided on a change of lifestyle. She bought the property and set about restoring the old buildings and planting her favourite plant. “I’d been to the south of France and seen lavender growing around small stone cottages similar to the one that’s here and felt that it was a crop that I could manage as a single woman,” Carol said.

She remembers it was difficult to establish the lavender farm. “There was a lack of water and I didn’t really know the property. In those days, lavender wasn’t popular, so trying to get lavender cuttings to put in the ground was also difficult,” she said.

According to Carol, Lavender was originally taken to England with the Romans. “It’s a Mediterranean plant that went to England early and was rediscovered by the monks in the Renaissance. But if you visit France now, what we call English lavender they call French lavender and the inferior lavender we call French lavender they call Anglaise,” she said. The lavenders (Lavandula) are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae.

An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia (Cape Verde and Canary Islands and Madeira) across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India. It is thought the genus originated in Asia but it is most diversified in its western distribution.Carol grows a range of lavenders including Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’ – an English lavender, hybridised in the lavender-growing regions of Provence, specifically for its oil content.

Carol also uses various cultivars of English lavender to get continuity of flowering. She lists the early flowerers in the Angustifolia range as: • ‘Hidcote’ – silver grey leaves and masses of violet flowers • ‘Alba’ – fragrant white flowers • ‘Rosea’ – pretty dwarf variety with pale pink flowers Carol harvests the lavender by hand.

“We use little Chinese half-moon sickles that are also used all over rural Malaysia, Indonesia and still in France to harvest lavender flowers for the cut and dried market. Mechanically harvested lavender would end up all higgledy-piggledy and we want it in nice straight bunches,” she said.

Lavenders include some 28 species of evergreen aromatic shrubs and sub shrubs belonging to the mint family, the Lamiaceae. They occur mainly around the Mediterranean and their flowers range from pink to purple and white. The genus includes annuals, herbaceous plants, subshrubs, and small shrubs. The color of some lavender flowers has come to be called lavender.

The leaves are long and narrow in most species. In other species they are pinnately toothed, or pinnate, sometimes multiple pinnate and dissected. Flowers are borne in whorls, held on spikes rising above the foliage. Flowers may be blue, violet or lilac. The calyx is tubular, with five lobes. The corolla is often asymmetric. Lavenders appreciate full sun.

Grow them in shade and they grow out towards the sunlight, and they like a well-drained soil. They don’t like wet feet. They don’t need a lot of fertiliser but some dolomitic lime in spring and autumn helps, and add some potassium to intensify the colour and strengthen the stems.

These plants develop a good root system, so they don’t need too much water. As lavender plants age, bushes can become woody. When pruning it’s important to retain the green foliage and don’t cut back into the old wood. Lavenders can be propagated by seed but you run the risk of cross pollination and remember some are prone to becoming weedy.

Check with your local council whether they’re weeds in your area before planting. Propagate by taking cuttings – either with a heel on soft wood or take older semi-hardwood cuttings. Just put them into the soil or into an open mix.

The flower spikes of lavender are used for floral arrangements and the pale purple buds are perfect for potpourri. The plant’s oils are used as an antiseptic and are now commonly used in aromatherapy.

Lavender is a great plant for pots and tubs. You can also use them around the garden as a hedge or mass plant them as a feature. Lavenders are really versatile plants. Ranges of great lavender products are made at Australian Lavender Essentials and you can buy direct from them online.

Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm

Around its golden stone farm buildings, Lavandula grows lavender, olives and grapes

• 10 minutes north from Daylesford…relax and hear the quiet.

• Enjoy the space…find a secret place.

• Walk in a garden that is beautiful and productive

• Play petanque

• Discover regional Italian architecture in the 1860s farmhouse

• Meet farm animals

La Trattoria licensed daytime cafe serves teas and lunches from the Mediterranean cuisine. Eat in the warm snug cafe, in the sunny stone loggia, or al fresco in the ash grove . Staff can create very special weddings, anniversaries and birthdays.

Lavandula is beautiful to visit in all seasons!

Green grass and sunshine, tulips and irises, fruit trees in blossom Nesting birds are singing among the pink flowers on the quince thickets, and frogs are calling from the bubbly creek

There’s a spring menu at La Trattoria In the Barn you’ll find our shop which also has a lovely online facility. has homewares and potions good for body and soul.

 

 

Contact Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm
Owner: Carol White
Business name: Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm
Postal Address: PO Box 35 Hepburn Springs Vic 3461
Address: 350 Hepburn-Newstead Road, Shepherds Flat via Daylesford
Email: mail@lavandula.com.au
Phone:  03 5476 4393
Fax: 03 5476 4390
International:  +61 3 5476 4393

FARM HOURS:

From 1 September-31 May the farm and its cafe are open daily BUT NOT WEDNESDAYS OR THURSDAYS But YES, it’s open each day during the school holidays The farm & cafe will be closed 24, 25 & 26 December In wintry June, July & August the farm is open weekends, and the cafe is open weekends too for lunch or teas. Coaches and large groups by appointment only Admission: Adults $3.50, school-age students $1.00, annual membership $10. Leashed dogs are welcome