By the numbers
Two and a half years to develop the lavender farm and gardens and six months to complete the buildings. The farm officially opened in November 2014.
The farm is also home to eight alpacas, eight merino sheep, nine orphan lambs and several chickens; all are productive animals.
The property covers 12 hectares – eight are developed into the farm and four are marked for future development.
There are 7000 lavender plants of approximately 25 varieties, including grosso, super and pacific blue.
While the bees are too many to count, there are 100 bee boxes, all hand painted purple to match the purple tractors. The farm’s Lakes Honey, including lavender, manuka, rata, clover and kamahi, is crafted with the help of local contract beekeepers and is for sale in the store. Five tonnes were harvested in 2016/17.
Many visitors have never seen lavender before. “We’ve also had tourists who had no idea rosemary was a plant or had never seen a rose in bloom. That’s one thing we love, seeing our guests not only discover our products but being able to experience them by walking among the lanes of lavender and sitting under the trees.”