Our Plants

Within Catskill Mountain Lavender’s one acre field, there are currently about 1,500 lavender plants. In the coming years we hope to fill the field to its full capacity of approximately 2,000 plants. The two types we grow are Lavandula Angustafolias (“English” or True Lavenders) and Lavandula X Intermedias (“French” or Lavandins). While there are several other types of Lavender, these are the only two suitable for colder climates with short growing seasons.

English Lavenders:

The English lavenders are cold hardier and have a sweeter scent than French lavenders. The plants are generally smaller and the flower stems are shorter. Catskill Mountain Lavender’s field currently includes seven English varieties: Buena Vista, Folgate, Melissa, Munstead, Royal Velvet, Sachet, and SuperBlue®. Some are handling the cold winters better than others, and we will be re-evaluating and replanting as needed.

We steam distill most of our English harvest to produce Lavender Essential Oil and Hydrosol. The two products from "true" lavender are often used by herbalists and in aromatherapy practice. The amount of Essential Oil and Hydrosol the English varieties produce per plant is small and is why we only have them available in limited quantities each year. A couple of our English varieties are prized for culinary use and can be harvested and hung to dry before the buds are stripped and cleaned. Culinary lavender buds can be used in baked goods, savory dishes, beverages and cocktails.  

French Lavenders:

The French lavenders are the stars of the show!  The plants can grow to three feet wide and are topped with flower stems that range from 18” to 24” long. If you have ever watched a video of lavender in bloom swaying in the breeze, you are most likely seeing a field of French varieties. Their scent has a sharper, camphor-like note, and they can produce triple the amount of essential oil per plant versus the English varieties.  Lavandin essential oil is typically used in perfumes and lavender bath and body care products. French lavenders are not as cold hardy as English varieties, but we are slowly finding varieties that will survive most Hudson Valley winters. The varieties that currently fill about two thirds of Catskill Mountain Lavender’s one acre field are Gros Bleu, Phenomenal®, and Sensational!®, and we plan to introduce at least one more in the near future.  

We open several rows of French Lavender each summer for our three-week U-Pick season which typically runs during parts of June and July. Dates and details are announced in late spring as the bloom dates shift from year to year depending on the weather. Subscribe to our mailing list or follow our social media for U-Pick  announcements. 

About half of our French Lavender crop is harvested, bundled, and hung to dry in the loft of the barn. After drying they are used to create decorative dried bundles, or we strip off the buds and use them to fill our sachets and eye pillows, or steep them in vinegar to produce our all natural household surface cleaner. After our U-Pick season ends, we harvest the remainder of the French lavender and steam distill it to produce the Lavandin Essential Oil which is bottled and used in our bath and body products which can be found on our product page.