July is the month that lavender is in full bloom, and the month that I seek to visit many of the…read morelavender farms throughout the Gorge! A friend told me about Bates Lavender Farm, which I had never heard of, surprisingly, since I'm in the Gorge all the time. Located in Corbett, it's just 30 minutes from Portland and a breathtaking ride.
On a bright blue sky day, the purple lavender and surrounding lush green forest, makes for a picture perfect afternoon. The scent is intoxicating, and the hum of the bees doing their pollinating, provides a zen like background buzz.
As most of these farms do, Bates sells products made from lavender. They have the largest assortment of products of any farm I visited thus far. They have soaps, essential oils, hand cream, scented room spritzers, lip balm, bath oil, sachets, a grinder of lavender infused salt (get this) and honey, too!
The variety of soaps is both creative and impressive. Not just the requisite lavender, they offer lavender lemon, rosemary lavender (fabulous), lilac lavender, lavender-aloe-avocado, rose lavender, mountain mint, citrus, vanilla lavender, and my favorite, lemongrass basil. The spritz comes in similar fragrances. These make wonderful gifts for teachers, friends, hostess gifts - or for yourself!
The owners are lovely, the fields beautiful, and you can make a day of it by stopping at The Women's Forum to take in the best view of Crown Point and the magnificent Columbia River. Continue up to Larch Mountain. Go chase the waterfalls along the Old Historic Highway . Options are endless. Just go! Check website for dates.
