Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Lavendar
Jennie Devlin surveys her lavender crop as she prepares for an upcoming exhibit at the Pink House Farmtique show at Latah County Fairgrounds July 25.
Varied use of the lavender plant is the subject of a new business east of Palouse.
Enchanted Paths began slowly five years ago at a five-acre property owned by Neal and Jennie Devlin.
In the past two weeks, Jennie held her first wreath-making classes and will bring a full exhibit July 25 to the second annual Pink House Farmtique show at Latah County Fairgrounds in Moscow.
Devlin sells buds of fresh lavender in 15 varieties, in colors from purple, white and pink, as well as dried lavender bundles. Next to be developed will be soaps, lotions and scrubs.
Food items may come after that.
At her farmer’s market displays this summer – in Colfax – Devlin serves lavender lemonade.
“To show you can actually cook with the stuff and it doesn’t taste like flowers,” she said.
Aside from culinary, other uses for Devlin’s lavender are decorative – the cut plants dry in place in arrangements, wreaths, picture frames and more, and last for years and years.
“It’s a scent that can be relaxing as well as invigorating,” Devlin said.
Her interest in the plant began after hearing about the Newport, Wash. Lavender Festival, then going to one near Walla Walla and another in Sequim, Wash.
“I was completely sold after that,” she said.
Devlin and husband Neal moved to their Palouse property in 2011 after 20 years in Colfax and five in Burbank.
Jennie soon bought a few hundred lavender starts at a nursery in West Linn, Ore., near Portland and got started planting.
Lavender takes about three years for a plant to reach maturity.
Last summer, Devlin laid out a 90-foot lavender labyrinth – a maze-like spiritual walk.
At the time, with maturing plants, the business was underway.
“Now I can share a passion for lavender with everyone,” said Devlin, who holds a Master Gardener certificate from WSU as well as University of Idaho. “They are an easy thing to plant, they thrive on neglect. Good for people without a green thumb.”
She now grows about 300 plants on one acre with room to fit 200 more.
Aside from working with lavender, she enjoys many crafts and activities. After a successful pumpkin patch and sale last year, she will do so again this fall, growing an acre’s worth amidst the lavender. The pumpkin operation provides profits to buy more plant starts.
At the end of June, Devlin held the first lavender wreath-making class, with a charge of $25 for a larger and $15 for a smaller size. In two hours, patrons made a wreath to take home. Over time, as the lavendar dries out, it retains its essential oils.
“It’s pretty much an everlasting wreath,” Devlin said.
More classes are planned for next year as well as a long-term intention to host luncheons and other receptions.
As far as cooking, Devlin uses the lavender – which originated in the Mediterranean – for cheesecake, shortcake and more. The flavor is added during the cooking process, strained into the water used for a recipe. The plant is also sometimes ground into a powder-like substance.
Devlin may or may not bring food items to Moscow for next week’s show but for certain will display her other crafting works: mosaic furniture made out of old China from tiled tabletops to birdbaths, and pillows sewn from vintage fabrics.
For more information on Enchanted Paths, call (509) 878-1971.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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