, New Zealand

The violet intrigue

The lavender farm between the ocean and the mountain

By Kenny Mah

We enter the lavender garden through a leafy arch. Carefully tended bushes of vibrant blooms stretch before us. Bees and butterflies flit from flower to flower, collecting nectar and pollen. The fragrance of the flowers is intoxicating.

The varietals of lavender have beautiful names: Pacific Blue and Violet Intrigue, Seal and Miss Donnington, Scottish Cottage and Impress Purple. The most widely farmed one is simply called Grosso, a hybrid of Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia suited to the stony soils here.

We stroll from bush to bush, marvelling at the subtle differences in fragrance. We walk under the rugged slopes of Mt. Fyffe: one side the ocean, the other the mountains with their snowy peaks. What a wonderful world we live in!