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September 7, 2008
Provence in Arizona
Master Gardener Column 9/6/08
For our 40th wedding anniversary, my husband Dick and I gave each other a month long trip through France. We'd been there before, but not together. When single, working with the airlines, we traveled a great deal, but this was a different trip. We were taking it together. First, we spent a week in Paris, then a week in the Loire Valley, then another week eating and drinking our way from Dijon to Lyon on a barge trip, and lastly driving for a week throughout Provence from our home base in Avignon.
More enchanting than I'd expected, I'd read about Provence in Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" and was surprised it hadn't changed much since he wrote it. Most memorable were the sweeping lavender fields, but the wonderful farm fresh foods and the wines unique to Provence were a delight, too.
Then, this June past, an old friend and fellow gardener came to town, suggesting we head to Concho for a Sunday visit to a local lavender farm. "Concho?" I asked. First of all, it's in the middle of nowhere halfway between Holbrook and Show Low. Secondly, the farm was called Red Rock Lavender Farm, a seeming oxymoron. Convinced of a hoax but without other plans, a two hour drive in each direction would give Laura and me time to catch up on our lives and gardens.
The farm was a surprise with fields of lavender against a backdrop of red rocks and aspen. A beautiful farmhouse with many chairs set amidst fields of lavender gave visitors an opportunity to sit and enjoy the colors, ranging from pink to blue to purple, and take in the aroma of the lavender. Provence in Arizona.
Red Rock Ranch and Farms grows lavender in the pristine climate of the White Mountains of Arizona at an elevation over 6,000 feet. Lavender grown at high altitudes yields higher ester content with intensely scented, fragrant lavender, nurtured in ideal growing conditions of perfect soil, clean air, and pure water. With acres of lavender fields, the farm is one of the largest growers of lavender in the United States.
The owners Mike and Christine Teeple came to Concho after Mike retired from a construction business in Southern California 19 years ago. Wanting to build houses in Concho, he looked for low water plants to landscape the properties. He called David Salman, at High Country Gardens in Santa Fe, and started with about 150 lavender plants and with "no guarantees" because of the climate. Using lavender in landscape was new at the time and not much was being done in the United States with lavender culinarily or therapeutically.
They now grow 13 varieties of lavender including the French lavenders, Provence (culinary) and Grosso (therapeutic) and the English lavenders, Royal Velvet, Royal Purple, Buena Vista, Vera, Dilly-Dilly, Blue Cushion, Jean Davis, Sarah, Munstead, and pink Melissa (mostly for fragrance.)
Grown and harvested by hand, they dry the lavender in their specially designed drying racks. During the months of June and July, when the lavender is in bloom, they offer two morning tours, but the tours are over for this season. In addition to the tours, their store offers many foods. After shopping, people can head out to one of the fields to cut their own lavender. Providing the tools to prevent diseases from infecting their farm, they suggest that tobacco smokers not cut because of the tobacco mosaic virus which can wipe out a whole field of plants.
100% pure high altitude lavender essential oil and lavender hydrosol is produced from their distillation system. High altitude lavender essential oil has a superior, well-balanced fragrance and is often used by aromatherapists. They've created many natural lavender products, such as fragrances, botanicals, and oils for the body, therapy, and spa, along with products for the home and kitchen.
Plan to visit Provence in Arizona when the lavender blooms in June 2009. The web site is: www.redrockfarms.com. Meanwhile, their products are available directly from them, and a visit is still possible sans tours where their organic produce is for sale throughout the summer.
Loni Shapiro is a Master Gardener volunteer. Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer, is coordinating editor for the Master Gardener Column. He can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call Hattie Braun, Coordinator of the Master Gardener Program, at 774-1868 ext.17 or visit our Web Site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at September 7, 2008 6:42 AM