Let us be straight with you about what September looks like here, because the photographs you have seen were taken in July.
The main bloom is over. Most of the lavender has been cut, some rows are bare stubble, and a few late Grosso and Melissa plants are still holding colour but nothing like the sweep you see in the summer pictures. If you are driving out from Vancouver expecting purple to the horizon, this is not the month for it. Come back in late June.
What is still here is the other half of the farm, and it is the half most summer visitors walk straight past.
Autumn is when the still runs
Everything we sell starts as a plant in these fields, and the turning of that harvest into oil happens now, not in July. The last cuttings come in, the flowers go to the still, and the essential oils and hydrosols that fill the shelves for the next year get made.
It is quieter work than the summer and considerably less photogenic, but it is the part of a lavender farm that most people never see. If you have ever wondered why one small bottle of Melissa oil costs what it does, the answer is happening in the barn in September.
The Gift Shop is open all year
The Gift Shop does not close with the fields. It runs Monday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, year round unless we announce otherwise.
The range is much the same after the bloom as during it: essential oils and hydrosols by cultivar, body care, tea, sugar, syrup and edible buds, and dried bundles and sachets. The dried lavender is worth a mention in particular, because it is the one product that is arguably better in autumn. It is this season’s harvest, and a Grosso sachet made now is still scenting a drawer next summer.
Browsing the shop is free. Access to the rest of the farm comes with a workshop or event ticket, or with a Gift Shop purchase of $12.99 or more. What is open outdoors changes as the season goes on, so check Location & Hours before you set out.
Workshops keep running
The workshops are the most complete way to spend an afternoon here once the fields have been cut, partly because they happen indoors and partly because they are the same whether it is July or November.
There are two on offer. The Lavender Wax Hanger is a drop-in at the Gift Shop: pick your colours and dried botanicals, set them in wax, and take home an ornament. No booking needed. The Botanical Candle Workshop is the longer one, where you scent, pour and decorate a soy candle using lavender essential oil distilled here on the farm, with cooling time built into the session so you leave with everything finished.
Current session times, prices and availability are on the workshops page. Children are welcome at both, with their own ticket and an adult alongside them, and wax stays hot for a while after pouring.
Saturday yoga
Yoga runs on the outdoor platform with Laia Han, ninety minutes of guided movement and breathing in the open air with the fields around you. Ten people maximum, so it stays small.
Details and the current dates are in our guide to the yoga sessions. Bring a mat and water.
The pond and the waterfall gardens
Beyond the lavender rows there is a pond with waterfall gardens around it that our gardeners look after through the cooler months. It is a different kind of green from the fields and it holds up far better in October than lavender does.
Fewer people are here in the autumn, the light comes in lower and warmer through the afternoon, and you are not queueing for anything. For a lot of returning visitors that is the appeal.
Getting here
We are at 8460 Steveston Highway, Richmond, BC, between No. 3 Road and No. 4 Road, about half an hour from downtown Vancouver. The entrance is on the south side of the highway and comes up quickly, so signal early. There are twenty-five complimentary parking spaces on site, and the 403 bus stops at Steveston Highway at Roseland Gate, right beside the farm.
Wheelchair-accessible washrooms are available. Some of the outdoor surfaces are gravel and sand and can be uneven. Pets are not permitted, though guide and service dogs are welcome, and outside food and drinks are not allowed on site.
Wear closed shoes and dress for the day. A Richmond afternoon in autumn can go from warm to damp inside an hour.
Worth the drive?
Not if you want the summer photograph. It is a genuinely different visit: smaller, quieter, more about what the farm makes than what it looks like.
For people who came in July and only saw the fields, this is the other half of the story. For anyone who has never been, it is an easy introduction without the summer crowds, and the lavender will still be here next June. If you want to plan that trip instead, here is when lavender blooms in BC.
Check current hours and workshop dates on Location & Hours and the workshops page before you come, then plan a morning around the shop, a workshop and a walk by the pond.