WEBBERVILLE, Mich. — There's nothing like the fresh sent of lavender, and if you're looking for some fresh blooms, you can pick it yourself. Ocimeae Lavender Farm in Webberville has their U-Pick Festival happening right now.
“It's definitely very family oriented. You can see people children are here, older people are here, and it just brings that nice sense of being about other people and doing something in nature," said customer Kathleen White.
Marilyn Smith started Ocimeae with her husband when they both knew they wanted to farm but didn't know what to plant.
“We decided on lavender because I have a little bit of a history with lavender," Smith said. "I've loved what it's done for my family in the way of healing, and we thought okay, that would be perfect because it was 20 years.”
The couple took some classes and learned everything they could about growing and using the plant.
“You can do sachets, you can put it in salt and make a salt scrub. You can put it in sugar and make lavender sugar. You can put it in some oil or some water and make it a fusion and use it as a linen spray or use it as a massage oil,” Smith said.
They officially opened their farm to the public this year.
“Everybody comes back in here with smiles, and on hot days like today, they're dripping wet, and they're still smiling and that's wonderful,” Smith said.
The u-pick season only lasts for a two-week window in July.
“When lavender scent spikes, and then the flowers start to blossom, that lets you know there's oil production going on," Smith said. "And there's that sweet spot right there where people can come and enjoy all that purple.”
In that time, people have come from all over to see and smell the purple blooms. White used to live in Webberville and traveled home from Minnesota for her sisters birthday when they decided to take a day trip to the farm.
“I'm very earthy," White said. "I've always been into natural sort of things, and so I love the fact that this this kind of thing is coming full circle.”
The bloom season is starting to wind down with the final day being July 15.
“Next week, it's going to start getting harvested, and it will be like green gumdrops out there, and the purple will be gone," Smith said.
When the u-pick season is over, the farm will teach classes on the plant.
“Stealing, propagating, planting by seed, harvesting, cutting," Smith said. "We teach classes on that and then also date nights.”
Until next season when there's more blooms to share.
“To me, it sort of represents a new beginning freshness and things from the Earth and some things that smell good and feel good and bring the community together," White said.
The farm will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. the rest of the week for the U-Pick Festival. A bundle is $15 with no limit on how much you pick. Smith suggests bringing scissors, a camera, a basket and anything else one might need to pick the lavender.
The farm will hold an end of season celebration with food trucks this weekend.
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