Cedar Ridge Trails Event

I recently went with my Auntie Sarah to the Cedar Ridge Trails for the ‘U-Pick Lavender & Wildflower’ event and I wanted to share with you about it.

It was such a beautiful farm and they also have an adorable gift shop. The farm is around 80 acres and has fields of flowers, woods, and meadows for live stock. The property is family run and owned. The family is intentional about using the property in a way that is sustainable and good for the environment. It was so interesting hearing about the history of the property. One of the neat things that was shared with us is this under ground spring that is built into the farm house. A pipe taps into the underground spring which is below the freeze line. The water runs into this water system continuously and even in the winter doesn’t freeze because it is low enough in the ground. It’s a continuous source of cold clean water which is fascinating.

For this event you buy tickets and then can cut a bouquets-worth of lavender or wildflowers. Of course I was all about the Lavender and didn’t get any wildflowers though they were beautiful!

We learned the right way to cut lavender! The owner share that Lavender is a woody plant and to never cut the flower where the stem is brown because the flower will then not regenerate for that stem. She also shared that it is helpful to the plan to trim above where the leaves are in order to make it easier for the flower to regenerate.

There were two types of Lavender one was short colonial lavender and the other was a long stemmed Lavender. They shared that the short colonial lavender is good for cooking. They said the oil is in the bud of the Lavender and adds great flavor to tea, lattes, meat, and desserts.

I hung my Lavender up to dry. The Lavender when dried maintains a great color and scent. To dry it she said to hang it upside down in a cool dark open space.