Don’t get us wrong — we love peony season, but there’s nothing quite like the luscious scent of blooming lavender radiating throughout the home. With peony season coming to an end soon, lavender will be blooming in no time, and trust us, it’s a summertime phenomenon you and your family do not want to miss.
Of course, Hoboken and Jersey City aren’t exactly known for their lavender farming, but that doesn’t mean that a day-trip to the lavender fields is out of reach. Lavender season kicks off near the end of June and flowering is pretty fleeting. It only lasts about three to four weeks, so you’ll want to get to a field as soon as they start blooming. Keep reading to discover four nearby lavender fields to visit this summer {only an hour away from Hudson County}.
The Benefits of Lavender
Lavender has myriad health benefits. It can be used to treat anxiety, mood swings, and of course, sleep issues. Inhaling some delicious-smelling lavender has been known to help people get to sleep faster and keep them from waking up throughout the night. But lavender isn’t just beneficial to our beauty rest. It can also fight fungal infections, repair hair loss, and treat wounds, too.
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And that’s just the cosmetic stuff. Aside from being an essential part of your beauty routine {hair, skin — you name it}, consuming lavender is also beneficial. It can alleviate many digestive issues such as vomiting, nausea, intestinal gas, bloating, and more. Anecdotal evidence also suggests lavender can cure headaches and relieve pain from injuries like sprains and even toothaches.
Speaking of consuming lavender, you can also cook with culinary lavender. It can go in just about any recipe — from lavender lemon bars to tea and morning lattes. In many bread recipes, lavender can be substituted for rosemary. You can also add it to your honey {and drizzle it on toast}, make lemonade, ice cream, and more. Lavender is a beautiful {and delicious} garnish in salads, desserts, and baked goods, and can even be used to top off your Sunday brunch Champagne.
Of course, if you’re going to ingest lavender, you need to make sure it’s fresh. You should never eat lavender that’s not categorized as culinary. If it’s from a florist, nursery, or garden center, it’s likely been treated with pesticides — AKA not culinary-grade. Lavender, however, found and sourced from organic lavender fields is A-OK to eat.
Lavender Farms Near Hudson County
Now that we’ve established the many benefits of lavender, find out where you can visit fresh lavender farms near Hudson County this summer.
Pleasant Valley Lavender Farm {288 Pleasant Valley Road, Morganville}
{Photo credit: @pleasant_valley_lavender}
Located in the Marlboro Township, a drive to Pleasant Valley clocks in at just under an hour. The Morganville, NJ farm has over 2,000 plants — from French to English lavender. Here, you can explore the fields and even cut your own lavender bundles. Alternatively, you can grab some already-harvested bundles in the Pleasant Valley shop.
With ten acres of fragrant field, Pleasant Valley sells fresh lavender by the bundle, dried lavender, loose buds, sachets, assortments of soaps, candles, and lavender honey made on site from Pleasant Valley’s bees. You can also go home with your own lavender plant, too, if you’d like to reap some of the benefits of lavender at home.
Like most fields, Pleasant Valley allows dogs {just make sure to clean up after them and leash them at all times}. Pleasant Valley also has chickens and a hecklin’ rooster who likes to make a lot of noise.
Pleasant Valley is now open from until July 28th. It will reopen again in August, so be sure to check their website for the schedule.
Hidden Springs Lavender Farm {890 Belle Mead-Blawenburg Road, Skillman
{Photo credit: @hiddenspringlavender}
Just about an hour outside of Hoboken and Jersey City, Hidden Springs is very aptly named, tucked away in Skillman, New Jersey. Also a wedding venue, Hidden Springs also features a horse barn and trails for patrons to ride. With 25 acres of farmland, you can take pictures in the fields, buy some lavender-themed trinkets at the gift shop, take a horse for a ride, and even pet an alpaca.
Hidden Springs has four very special residents — Faerie Dust, Golden Girl, Wallace, and Corri Hoillie. Kids can get up close and personal with the alpacas in their pen, petting them and even feeding them.
Though lavender typically blooms from late June to mid-July, Hidden Springs is open year round.
North Winds Lavender Farm {20 Charles Colman Boulevard, Pawling}
{Photo credit: Facebook}
An hour and a half away from Hudson County is North Winds Lavender Farm. Nestled in Pawling, New York, North Winds is right on the border of the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts. As you can guess, it has got quite the scenery.
North Winds sits on 24 secluded acres of fields, but unfortunately, is not open to the public. However, their farm store is {at 20 Charles Coleman Boulevard in Pawling, NY}. Because the farm is so elevated, the terrain and environment are more conducive to growing varieties of lavender plants. The farm is family-owned and was established back in 2005.
They make everything from dried bunches, handmade soap, microwavable aromatherapy pillows, lavender oil, hand-rubbed beeswax, lavender taper candles, and even hand-painted artwork. For culinary purposes, you can also purchase lavender jelly, syrup, shortbread cookies, and scones.
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Orchard View Lavender Farm {101 Karrsville Road, Port Murray}
{Photo credit: @orchardviewlavenderfarm}
An hour and 20 from town, you’ll find Orchard View, a pesticide- and herbicide-free lavender farm. Established in Warren County in May 2015, Orchard View is committed to purely organic methods of growing. Like Pleasant Valley, Orchard View guests are invited to cut their own lavender during the harvest season.
It also functions as a wedding and event venue and frequently gets bookings for artists and photographers. You can pack a picnic basket, bring a blanket, or sit in the on-site gazebo to enjoy some of the very purple sights Orchard View has to offer.
Open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, Orchard View also offers some cool events. These include wellness events spanning from Tai Chi and meditation classes to Reiki. You can also sign up for painting events {think paint + sip, but in a field}, as well as the Sunset Event, which invites guests to watch the sunset from the field.
Orchard View has many items for purchase: bath and body gifts, household and culinary, teas and tea accessories, aromatherapy jewelry, essential oil, and garden décor and gifts. {Not to mention fresh and dry lavender bundles during harvest season, while supplies last!}
What’s your favorite way to use lavender at home? Let us know in the comments below!
Written by: Steph
Steph Osmanski is a freelance writer who specializes in sustainability and health and wellness content. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Stony Brook Southampton.
