a color story: lavendar fields part two

Back on the 401, driving. Slowly started to see some purple plants emerge out of the space between the roads. Could those be lavender? I didn’t even know what they would look like in all honesty. I didn’t know that space could have flowers. It must be drought-resistant and hardy in general. Would people go to a lavender farm if they were easily accessible via highway commute?

Highway roads turned into town roads. Koreans presumably owned a busy gas station. The passenger proudly mentioned this Korean insider note. Too bad we already filled up on our gas. Too bad we couldn’t do business. We kept note to fill up the next day. We knew our aggressive air conditioning behaviors with the lengthy explorative road trip mentality would be the beginning of our gas stops.

We made it to the fancy bed and breakfast at Prince Edward County. It looked like one of those fancy Scandinavian cottages that could be featured in an architectural digest. Here too had the same purple plants. My curiosity got the better of me and I “Google Lens” the plant and discovered that it wasn’t lavender. The color was enough to escape the Service Centre washroom.

The host and owner welcomed us to their property. It was 1 building with tall ceilings with 3 units for rent. Two rooms at the bottom and 1 large room upstairs with a shared lobby. Minimal designed. A small garden with mulch surrounded the front. Not your retro bed and breakfast. I wished I had something to compare. It was a novel experience — a young family running a new approach to bed and breakfast.

After contacting the owner about the upcoming breakfast situation and public pass, we quickly headed out again for the drive. Obviously, we first head checked out a local Lavender Field Farm. Narrow roads, with ornamental grass caving in. I thought that my father would enjoy this kind of drive. These intimate roads made the two-hour drive down worthwhile. This almost made me become a person who enjoyed driving. I viewed the drive as something more than a utility. But, it could be the Bed and Breakfast destination doing the talking. When we got there, we were escorted to the backyard parking lot which was actually a field of grass.

The Lavender rows. Instagram worthy, Instagram heavy. Everybody got in their best behaviors or best angles. You knew people were serious about sharing their “lifestyle” once the DSLRs came out. The light air lingered with traces of lavender. The air became more than a utility. If the bottled air “scams” had a line of lavender field farms, I would probably purchase a case. Then, I noticed the lavender plants- much lower and “bushier” than expected. Leaning into the purple nectars, you just wanted a concentrated version of it. The $10 admission encouraged the physical act of smelling, but the pictures weren’t enough.

The farm, too, seemed family-run. Was this the norm at Prince Edward County? If so, I didn't mind being part of an ecosystem where they share their world - even if it does attract tourist. 

There was a mascot fairy that roamed around the fields. I don’t know if there was a connection to a folktale. But, it seemed odd as she approached with her fairy magic. Our group was three adults. The first encounter was welcoming. The second felt odd. She was committed to her role because she didn’t break character once. Note, that this was a mascot without a mask. Sometimes I would look afar to see whether she had a changed facial expression. No, the fairy mascot enjoyed the role.

We left to the second field of lavender rows. More pictures, and more smells. Once the novelty turned into a chore, we knew it was time to leave. We proceeded to the refinery and learned that it takes 100 grams of lavender flowers to produce 1 ml of lavender oil. The education turned into a purchase. And now, I craved lavender gelato if that existed. We saw a group with gelatos and I asked quickly what it was and if it was good. Lavender Gelato?!

Just creamy white. No purple dye. The oils stuck to the top of your mouth. For $5, the novelty was well worth the price. Even compared to public ice cream store prices, it was reasonable.

Took one last whimph of the lavender air. Sometimes, the wind would push the smell up to your nose. Everyone was in a good mood from the staff, visitors, and even the bees. The lavendar fields, the lavendar fields, oh the lavender fields.