Sequim, WA

Can a fragrant flower revitalize a community? Barely six years after the Sequim Chamber of Commerce first met to discuss the idea of instituting a floral industry, the Sequim-Dungeness Valley in northwest Washington is blanketed with fields of blooming lavender—so in this case the answer is yes.

Each summer, thousands of people flock to the area to enjoy this ancient herb and to spend time out on the growing farms, where they will cut fresh bundles of the fragrant herb, learn how to grow it, and purchase lavender-based products ranging from lip balm to potpourris to salad dressing.

Sequim (pronounced “Squim”) was settled in the early 1850s by pioneers who logged, fished, and raised dairy cattle. Over the last three decades, the town has become a haven for retirees enjoying its rural beauty and temperate climate.

The Sequim prairie—the flat, fertile delta of the Dungeness River, nestled between Washington state’s Olympic Mountains to the south and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north—is located in the “rainshadow” (so-called because it is sheltered from the rainfall of the Olympic rainforest). This is an ideal setting for the purple-blossoming lavender plant, which loves rich, dry soil and lots of sunshine. Sequim’s annual rainfall is just 16 inches, compared to the town of Forks just 75 miles southwest, which records over 120 inches.

This love affair with lavender began in 1995, when Sequim’s Fields of Flowers committee began researching the highly fragrant perennial herb, holding out a vision of endless purple fields, similar to those in Provence, France. Within a year, six farmers had put 600 lavender plants in the ground. As the dream took root, Toni Anderson, owner of Cedarbrook Herb Farm, supplied other farmers with “plugs”—tiny lavender starter plants.

“We started with only a handful of people planting lavender that first summer,” says Anderson. “Now, six years later, we have over 60,000 plants, and the Sequim Lavender Grower’s Association has more than 30 members.”

Lillian Gimmestad, owner of Willow Farm, was involved from the beginning. After losing her job at a local grocery store, she went back to school to study horticulture. Sequim’s lavender dream was just taking shape as Gimmestad neared completion of her degree. The timing was perfect to start planting her eight-acre farm with the new crop.

Gimmestad now nurtures 1,400 mature lavender plants, using dried lavender blossoms to make such products as soap, lotions, lavender-filled hot-packs, and herbal seasoning blends—selling them through local stores, at regional craft fairs, and on the Internet.

“Lavender’s success here is a very positive thing for the community,” she says. “It gives everyone, even those with only one or two plants in their yard, a sense of belonging. It attracts locals and tourists to our restaurants, retail shops, and lodging establishments; and it offers farmers many opportunities to give back to the community.”

During the annual Lavender Festival at the height of the harvest in late July, the whole town decorates itself in lavender. The scent of the blooming flowers wafts across the valley, mingling with the aroma of the nearby fir forest and the salty maritime air. The weekend-long celebration pulls in over 20,000 people to Sequim, normally a town of only 4,500.

Lavender growers now even offer an annual scholarship to a high school senior who plans to study agriculture or horticulture in college. The farmers are proud of what they’ve accomplished, and as far as they know, Sequim is the only commercial lavender hub in the United States (the majority is grown in Bulgaria, Croatia, Russia, and China).

That same pride extends to the townspeople, too. “Lavender is the city’s official flower,” Anderson says. “It’s considered patriotic to have at least one lavender plant in your yard.”

Betty Oppenheimer is the author of three craft books and a frequent contributor to The Sequim Gazette.

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