Lavender Harvest at Sunrise Ridge

Spring and summer at Sunrise Ridge is showcase time for the Provence Lavender growing on the hillside and along the borders of the citrus.  The fragrance of the sweet smelling flowers is carried by the wind through out the gardens. By late April the flower stocks appear and they are in full bloom by the middle of May.  Bees and butterflies are attracted to the blossoms. We cut the lavender when the spikes have achieved full color and the last flowers are open.

Lavender hillside in May and June.	The lavender is ready to harvest for distillation when all of the flowers have opened which is about six weeks after the first flowers.
Afternoons are the best time for harvestings as the dew is off the flowers.	The lavender is cut carefully by hand and must be distilled that same day.
It is cut and stacked into large piles on burlap sheets.	The corners of the burlaps are tied together into bundles.