You know what they say- new year, new home decor. With the beginning of each new year, January encourages everybody to hit the reset button – make some resolutions, hit the gym, find a new mantra or start a new project. In the spirit of that trend comes the instinct to freshen up our home.
Once the Christmas decorations have come down, your interior can suddenly feel quite bare and unadorned. While January is a perfect time to declutter. It can also be a time to update your home with a few key pieces. No one has the budget to redo their home year after year to meet the current trends and colours. But, one of the easiest ways to make a change is to find a new unique accent piece for your table like a vase or sculpture.
We absolutely adore this funky sculpted vase that is handmade at Hillborn pottery in Cambridge Ontario and is available for purchase at Serenity Lavender Farm. This fashionable vase can hold water and is suitable for fresh or dry flowers…. like lavender. We of course love, love love the periwinkle colour and blue accents. It is a perfect statement piece to perk up a room in shades of grey, cream, beige or white.
Purple pottery vase by Hilborn . The perfect statement piece for your home
Artisan pottery by Hillborn brings a winter wonderland to your home
Another cool piece or rather pieces for winter is this winter wonderland… you can keep a bit of the holiday season in your home all winter long and brighten up any space with it’s vibrant colours reminiscent of the northern lights in Northern Ontario. These pieces are again from our friends at Hilborn Pottery and available at Serenity Lavender.
Imagine the calming scent of lavender in your home
Simplicity is sometimes best and after indulging over the holidays we are partial to this DIY idea. All you need is a metal tray. Spray paint it to suit your taste- pewter would be fantastic. Then find 3 glass vases even from Dollarama or mason jars and add some dried lavender – available at Serenity Lavender. You can even add some ribbon but we like the unadorned elegance of this centrepiece and so simple to make yourself.
There is plenty of inspiration around us to refresh your home decor. Check out our shop or some of the websites or instagram pages of some your favourite local shops. Support local and small business!
Come take away the winter blues and celebrate love with a Felt Flower Heart Wreath.
Think Pink! Join us in making a beautiful wreath to take away the winter blues and celebrate love. You will learn to make 5 different styles of felt flowers and how to arrange them to make your wreath pop. This workshop is perfect for anyone who is looking for a Sunday of fun, relaxation and creativity! All materials are provided.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/86737671711
Make it an afternoon! Stay for lunch or have a glass or wine enjoy the warmth of our fireplace. the food and our view at Bistro 42. Call 519-738-6111 to reserve your table.
This time of year there is a lot of entertaining going on in our neighbourhood with house parties abound. The food is just as diverse are our friends who are hosting these little soirees from wine and cheese minglers to the causal elegance of a sit down dinner.
If you are hosting a party this season we have a perfect recipe that gives a tender juicy lamb loin or rib chop a bit of zing in the flavour department using locally grown lavender. The aromatic rub of lavender and orange zest is an ideal flavour combination to make any cut of lamb a herbal fragrant note that is reminiscent of the southern coast of France.
Served with a lovely fall salad of arugula or other bitter greens and tossed with roasted hazelnuts and pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate seeds are delightfully sweet and crunchy. The bright red colour and burst of flavour is one of our favourite additions to any salad this time of year, not just this one.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced shallot
1 Tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon Serenity Lavender’s dried culinary lavender buds
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of freshly ground black peppercorns
8 double cut lamb chops (about 450 grams each)
Method
In a bowl, blend the olive oil with the shallot orange zest, lavender, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the lamb chops ad transfer them onto a broiling pan or metal rack set on a baking sheet. Let the chops rest in the fridge for 2 -3 hours
Preheat the broiler and position a rack 8-10 inches from the heat. Broil the chops for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally until the temperature reads 140 degrees F.
Salad
Ingredients
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a large lemon)
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
400 grams of arugula
1/2 cup of roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
Place the arugula in a large bowl. Add the remainder of the ingredients into a small round covered plastic container. Shake well until the oil and lemon juice are blended. Pour over the lettuce, toss and serve with the lamb chops.
Enjoy!
This will be the absolute most fragrant class you will ever take! Join us in handcrafting a gorgeous lavender wreath perfect for the holidays. Who says lavender can’t be part of the most celebratory time of the year? Lavender with it’s beautiful purple hues is just beautiful with a white, silver and grey palate or even more lovely with the pastels that are showing up from creams to aqua let alone those purple ornaments that I keep seeing everywhere… so why not lavender especially if you love it like we do.
Come create a beautiful French inspired wreath full of dried lavender and pine cones harvested from our fields to adorn your door and bring a bit of lavender into your home this holiday season.
We have had a few requests for an afternoon class so we’re offering 2 wreath workshops one on the afternoon of December 4th and another the evening of December 11th. Tickets are available on eventbrite or by calling the store at 519 738-6111.
All materials included
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/afternoon-lavender-wreath-workshop-tickets-82719234457
http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/lavender-wreath-workshop-tickets-82714032899
Our bees have been busy this year and we have once again we have lavender honey!
What’s the buzz? A worker bee gathers in her entire life 0.8 gram (0.0288 ounce) of honey and it requires 556 worker bees and a million flowers to gather a pound of honey. Bees normally fly once around the world to gather enough nectar for that pound of honey but we make it a bit easier for them by placing our hives in our lavender production field. Still, that’s a lot of flowers.
Bees at work at Serenity Lavender
Raw honey has been used as a folk remedy throughout history. But those old wives tales are true and honey has a variety of health benefits and medical uses. It’s chocked full of antioxidants, is heart healthy and tastes delicious too!
The bees arrived back on our property on June 7th and we have 8 hives this year. The bees were very busy with 2 blooms this summer and our first batch of honey was extracted on July 21st.
Taste the pure goodness of raw lavender honey
Lavender honey in the making
Sooooo golden in colour and the delicate floral scent of lavender flows through this pleasant, well balanced and rounded honey.
Our bees make terrific lavender honey – not infused
Lavender honey comb
And we just stocked our shelves with some gorgeous honeycomb. Eating honeycomb is one way to enjoy the full fruits of our bees’ labour. To produce one pound of wax the bees consume 6-8 lbs of honey. The wax is edible and honeycomb contains not just honey but also pollen and sometimes royal jelly. It’s the perfect addition to a bowl of oatmeal in the morning and you’ll find it on our charcuterie boards at the Bistro 42.
We’ll be saying goodbye to our bees soon as the evenings cool but we thought we’d share this old family recipe as our bee season winds down and they go into hibernation.
Polish Honey Spice Cookies (Pierniczki)
Ingredients
1 c sugar
¼ c water
1 c honey
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
4 tsp butter
4 c flour
1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup warm water
Icing
1 c confectioner’s sugar
1-2 Tbsp water depending on the thickness of the icing you want (glazed or piped)
½ teaspoon almond or peppermint extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan measure out 2 Tbsp of sugar and ¼ cup of water stir until dissolved and carmelize over gentle heat stirring until it begins to turn a golden brown colour. Add the remaining sugar, honey, spices and butter. Stir continuously until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from the stovetop and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl beat the egg and mix in the flour, baking soda and water. Blend in the sugar add spice mixture . Knead the dough until smooth. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest 20 minutes.
On a flour dusted countertop roll out the dough into a rectangle. Cut the dough into shapes using your favourite cookie cutters and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool. Ice the cookies.
Smacznego!
All we can say is Wow! Our hearts are filled with gratitude to all those who came out to Lavender Festival 2019. From the artists and artisans to the musicians, our amazing team and to all of you, our customers a great big THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts! You all made this weekend a tremendous success!!!
Schedule of Events
Thank you for joining us for Lavender Festival 2019 and helping us celebrate all things Lavender!
SATURDAY
10:00 am Tai Chi Demonstration
Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism
10:30 am Lavender Tour (free)
Meet at the Peace Garden/Labrinyth
11:00 am Cooking Demo
Learn the art of BBQ from Award winning competitive barbequer Wally Hayes. Meet at the Food tent
11:00 am Live Music – Max Marshall
-2:00 pm Grab some food, wine/beer and enjoy under the music tent
12:00 pm Lavender Wand Dem0
Meet at the Serenity Lavender booth
12:30 pm Lavender Tour (free)
Meet at the Peace Garden/Labrinyth
1:00 pm Paint and Sip Class
Prepaid tickets – meet under the canopy
1:00 pm What’s the Buzz? Bee tour
Pre sold tickets –Anderdon Apiaries stay tuned for future events
1:30 pm Decoupage Demo
Meet at the Serenity Lavender booth
2:00 pm Live Music- Aaron Furlotte
-5:00 pm Grab some food, wine/beer and enjoy under the music tent
2:00 pm Lavender Tour (free)
Meet at the Peace Garden/Labrinyth
2:30 pm What’s the Buzz? Bee tour
Pre sold tickets –Anderdon Apiaries stay tuned for future events
3:oo pm Wreath Making Demo
Meet at the Serenity Lavender booth
SUNDAY
10:30 am Lavender Tour (free)
Meet at the Peace Garden/Labrinyth
11:00 am Cooking Demo
Learn the art of BBQ from Award winning competitive barbequer Wally Hayes. Meet at the Food tent
11:00 am Live Music – James Staley
-2:00 pm Grab some food, wine/beer and enjoy under the music tent
12:00 pm Dried Flower Music Cone Demo
Meet at the Serenity Lavender booth
12:30 pm Lavender Tour (free)
Meet at the Peace Garden/Labrinyth
1:00 pm Paint and Sip Class
Prepaid tickets – meet under the canopy
1:00 pm What’s the Buzz? Bee tour
Pre sold tickets –Anderdon Apiaries stay tuned for future events
1:30 pm Decoupage Demo
Meet at the Serenity Lavender booth
2:00 pm Live Music-Garage Mahal
-5:00 pm Grab some food, wine/beer and enjoy under the music tent
2:00 pm Lavender Tour (free)
Meet at the Peace Garden/Labrinyth
2:30 pm What’s the Buzz? Bee tour
Pre sold tickets –Anderdon Apiaries stay tuned for future events
3:oo pm Felt Flower Wreath Demo
Meet at the Serenity Lavender booth
Thank you for your smiles and continued support!
Serenity Lavender Farm welcomes you to our 8th Annual Lavender Festival! Come join us as we celebrate Lavender bloomand our 10th store anniversary!
Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23
10am – 5pm
130 County Road 50 East, Colchester, Ontario
FREE ADMISSION
This year’s festival will the the best yet, with over 30 artists and artisans, live music, tai chi demonstaration, yoga class, craft demos, a painting workshop, scavenger hunt, children’s activities, plant sale and lavender garden tours.
Here’s the line up so far and we invite you to come and celebrate our lavender bloom:
Musical Entertainment:
Max Marshall – Saturday, June 22, 11am – 2pm
Aaron and Joel Furlotte – Saturday, June 22, 2pm – 5pm
James Staley – Sunday, June 23, 11am – 2pm
Six Degrees – Sunday, June 23, 2pm – 5pm
Artisans:
Local artists, crafters and artisans make up our Artisan Alley, a place to admire and purchase hand-crafted original works and include:
Pawsitively a Dog Thing A Slice of Nature LRRR Designs
G-Pots Cary’s Cutting Boards Glen Eden Salsa
Bishop Artwork EVB Jewelry Stellas Works
Whispers of Wonder Handmade by Deb That’s Sew Sarah
Creations by Ann Mayz Birdhouses Whispering Willow Designs
Jewels by Jasper Transformed Treasures JWaters Design
Couture Art Terra Green Gardens Ayesha Drouillard
R.W Studios Garage Glass Art Dana Laferriere
Twisted to Life KandA Chalk Adventures Then n Now
Kap’s Collection Unconscious Reality Seaside Jewels
Silver by Wendy Jeff Perz Floyjoy Studio
Painting Workshops:
Local artist Rico Dancel is offering two of his well-loved Paint ‘n Wine workshops. His theme, “Lavender Fields Forever.” No experience or materials are necessary! Enjoy a relaxing afternoon with Rico as he leads you and your friends through a guided painting workshop. You’ll take home your own original creation of a lovely lavender field. Tickets must be purchased in advance. $50 + HST. Call Serenity Lavender Farm at 519-984-2684
Children’s Activities:
Every child is an artist and we have lots of children’s activities planned for Lavender Festival 2019! So bring your children and delight in the enchanting world of lavender where they can express their creativity in the chalk walk and colour station, be entertained by the whimsical story telling and readings of local children’s authors including Jane Buttery and Kara Koostra , explore the lavender labyrinth and experience the dance of the butterflies, go on a curiosity invoking adventure with our children’s scavenger hunt or simply write and tie a wish on the magical wishing tree.
Come join us for this fun filled weekend at Serenity Lavender Farm!
Join us in the traditional art of decoupage! All supplies are provided to make a set of 3 beautiful eggs. Follow our lead or add your own artistic touches. Make the day extra special and book lunch prior to the workshop or afterward, in our own Bistro 42 (Meals are not included in the price of the workshop).