Riverina Thomas
Lavandula x intermedia 'Riverina Thomas' (Riverina Thomas Lavandin) A robust selection of Lavandin that grows as a mound to about 2 to 3 feet tall by as wide with fragrant narrow leaves that when in active growth are green but age to gray-green. In late spring into early spring arise the very long 2 to 3 foot peduncles topped by a compact 3 to 4 inch long spike of sweet smelling violet-blue flowers that peak in early to mid summer with a repeat flowering in the fall. Besides this repeat flowering aspect, 'Riverina Thomas' is also known to have to have larger more fragrant flowers that yield up to five times that aromatic oil of other lavandin varieties. Plant in an open sunny location in a well drained soil where it is quite drought tolerant and needs only be irrigated occasionally to infrequently once established – over watered plants are floppy and weaker and dislikes overly wet conditions. The lavandins are cold hardy to below 15 degrees F and can be long lived if pruned hard after flowering in late summer – cut back deep into the leafy stems above the hard wood but do not prune in late fall or winter. The lavandin varieties of lavender are the most commonly used lavenders to extract lavender oil but, besides their commercial use, they are great in the garden and useful for fresh sachets, dried for potpourri and the edible flowers for salads or cooking. As with most lavender they are quite attractive to bees and butterflies, but not particularly to browsing animals – deer tend to leave alone but rabbits sometimes nibble at the leaves. Lavandula x intermedia 'Riverina Thomas' is a triploid hybrid that was created by crossing the popular dark flowering Lavandula x intermedia 'Grosso' with English Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia. It comes from the breeding program of Dr. Nigel Urwin of Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. In 2003 through a selection program in Riverina, the agricultural region of south-western New South Wales where Charles Sturt University is sited, the world’s first commercially available polyploid lavenders were released with names such as 'Riverina Alan' 'Riverina Margaret', 'Riverina Eunice' 'Riverina James' and 'Riverina Thomas'. Dr. Urwin published a report about his work in 2009 in the Improvement of Lavender Varieties by Manipulation of Chromosome Number published by Australian Governments Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, noting that "these plants should be higher yielding and produce equivalent or better quality oils than currently grown varieties.". In this report he lists the parentage of 'Riverina Thomas' (originally having the code name L. x intermedia 'CSU150') as having Lavandula x intermedia 'Grosso' as the seed parent and Lavandula angustifolia as the pollen parent.
A French cultivar worth knowing!
Culinary lavender
One of the most popular smells in human history, lavender has been celebrated around the world for over 2,500 years: The ancient Egyptians used this flowering herb, a member of the mint family, for its potent fragrance during mummification; in ancient Greece it was incorporated in treatments for everything from insomnia to backaches; and it was employed so often by the Romans for healing baths that the word lavender comes from the Latin verb lavare meaning “to wash.”
But beyond its wide range of therapeutic and healing properties, lavender is also a helpful companion in the kitchen. When you know how to cook with lavender properly, it can bring a beautiful floral quality to a number of sweet and savory dishes. But the key to keeping your food from tasting like your mom’s favorite hand lotion?Culinary lavender.
What is culinary lavender?
The term lavender is generally used to describe any plant of the genus Lavandula, which encompasses 47 known species of flowers. Not all lavender, however, should be used in food. I repeat: Not all lavender should be used in cooking. Though most lavender is technically safe to eat, culinary lavender is typically cultivated from Lavandula angustifoliaplants (commonly known as English or “true” lavender) and has a lot less oil than the aromatic lavender used in perfumes or soaps.
“That leads to a much sweeter, more palatable lavender that’s easier to use in your cooking,” says Claire Cheney, founder of New England spice purveyor Curio Spice Co. “Lavender can be a polarizing flavor like cilantro. Maybe you always thought of it as an overly floral or soapy flavor, but it can be enchanting and forest-like,” Cheney says.
How do you buy high-quality lavender?
When shopping for high-quality culinary lavender, color is key. “You want to look for that vibrant blue-purple color as opposed to grayish-purple,” Cheney says. Cheney also recommends giving the herbs a nice whiff—good culinary lavender should have a “spicy, minty quality but not an overly perfumy aroma.”
Deep dive in to lavender hydrosol
Deep dive on lavender hydrosol:
What Is A Hydrosol?
A hydrosol is a type of herbal distillate that is produced by steam distilling plant material. Unlike essential oils, which are highly concentrated and can be irritating to the skin, hydrosols are much milder and can be used topically.
Hydrosols can be used in a variety of ways, including as a facial toner, body spray, or hair rinse. They can also be added to bathwater or used in a diffuser to create a relaxing environment. In addition to being gentle and versatile, hydrosols are also relatively inexpensive, making them a great choice for those interested in natural skincare.
Lavender Hydrosol Benefits
Also known as floral water, lavender hydrosol is an ideal way to bring both the aroma and benefits of the properties of the plant in a simple way. These include the soothing scent, natural antiseptic, cleansing, and insect repellent properties of lavender essential oil. It can be used in everything from aromatherapy to a wide range of personal care, therapeutic, household, workspace, and car care uses.
Lavender Hydrosol Uses
Some of the most popular uses for lavender hydrosol include adding it to laundry loads as a natural fabric softener, using it as an all-natural facial toner spritz, or even using it in the place of water when watering plants.
Lavender hydrosol is especially soothing and calming for skincare conditions such as acne, diaper rash, eczema or even sunburn.
You can also use it to make your own all-natural air freshener by mixing it with distilled water in a spray bottle and spritzing it around your home or as a natural linen spray.
Lavender hydrosol is especially soothing and calming for skincare conditions
such as acne, diaper rash, eczema or even sunburn.
You can also use it to make your own all-natural air freshener by mixing it with distilled water in a spray bottle and spritzing it around your home or as a natural linen spray.
Spring 2022
We had a long snowy winter followed by a record breaking rainy spring. We hope to dry out a bit soon so that the 200 new plants don’t drown! We have a total of 2400 plants now and 9 cultivars. The field is looking great and the season 3 plants are really filled out nicely. Season 2 plantings are looking strong! The field is growing by the day and the plants are shooting up long stems of flower buds with even a few beginning to open already in mid June.
Our fall and winter construction projects are wrapped up. We purchased a commercial 35 gallon still to do our own on site distillation of lavender essential oil and hydrosol. We hope to retail sale enough of the oil to purchase a lavender harvester for next season.
We broke ground on another acre or so adjacent to the field which will be used for a new alpaca paddock and perhaps eventual parking area should we ever branch out into agritourism. We are mulling over thoughts of doing photography sessions, building a store front next to the field and a barn for the equipment a few years down the road.
We would love to see you visit the farm. When the gate is open we are around! We have no set hours so please do call or text ahead at (719)238-1392 if you want to see the farm and or purchase any of our handmade products that you see on the website.
Cheers!
Alex and Mary Porter
Summer 2021
Summer has been a flurry of activity at Glacier View Lavender! With the help of a lot of friends and family we were able to plant about 2800 tiny plants to complete our lavender field. We expanded our cultivars to include Riverina Thomas, Riverina Allan, Gros Bleu, Provence, Grosso, Melissa, Miss Katherine and Royal Velvet. The 500 plants that we planted last summer have been giving us a showy and long bloom this unseasonably hot summer.
The farm has been undergoing a lot of remodeling and new construction to accommodate Mary’s power wheelchair and “tank”. We did a trial distillation of essential oil from the Riverna varieties. That process showed us that we will need to invest in a much larger still.
We are beginning to get back to making our hand crafted items to sell online and at the farm. The bees have ben very busy in the lavender fields as well as the neighboring orchards and cannabis farms. We look forward to some very tasty and relaxing honey this season!
One surprise this summer has been the consistent flow of drop in tourist visitors. Alex enjoys showing visitors around the farm. Given the level of interest from visitors, we may consider building a small farm storefront and perhaps even branch into camp sites or event venues next year. Keep your eyes and ears open to see if these dreams come to fruition.
We hope you have a safe and enjoyable summer!
Alex and Mary
Spring 2021
2020 was a challenging year for everyone and Glacier View Farm was no exception. Our plans to plant our first acre were dashed by not being able to get the plants we ordered from the supplier. We scrambled and were able to source about 500 plugs which we put in the ground and hoped for the best. We were rewarded with several rows of healthy and happily growing lavender this spring! So while we don’t yet have the field of purple we hoped for, we at least have a start.
Mary was able to make several products for the retail line and made a few internet sales. She will continue to refine what seems to sell well and what our customers want. The house looked a bit like a chemistry lab at times and smelled wonderfully of lavender all summer as she experimented with soaps, lotions, salves and linen sprays.
Another success was our first efforts at distilling our own essential oil from locally sourced lavender. After a failed first attempt, Alex perfected the process and we produced our first batch of pure essential oil.
We all breathed a sigh of relief when the calendar turned over to 2021 but this year has continued to present challenges to overcome. We were unable to get the plant order from last year filled again so we found ourselves again searching for plants and anew supplier. Luckily we were able to find about 1500 plants that will be ready to put in the ground near the end of June.
Perhaps the biggest challenge we are facing was Mary’s diagnosis of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease this February. Thanks to The Independence Fund who donated a tracked outdoor wheelchair she is still able to get out in the fields every day and admire the growing young plants. We are not sure if we will continue our retail line as a result of her illness. We definitely will be pursuing distilling our own lavender right here on the farm as Alex seems to have the magic touch!
We had a lot of positives happen on the farm as well. We greeted a second grandchild, celebrated our daughter’s engagement and made some great new friends while rekindling old friendships. Every day we are grateful for our amazing family and friend support network who have really pulled some heavy lifting on the farm this spring as we scramble to make the house and farm more user friendly for a wheelchair. We look at Mt.Hood and Mt.Adams and smile, knowing we are living our best life in our favorite place on earth.
Here’s to a great year and we will post pictures of our progress on Facebook and Instagram. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the farm possibly later this summer when the planting is complete and life settles down a bit.
Cheers!
Glacier View Lavender
Benefits of Lavender
Lavender essential oil is one of the most popular and versatile essential oils used in aromatherapy. Distilled from the plant Lavandula Angustifolia, the oil promotes relaxation and is believed to treat anxiety, fungal infections, allergies, depression, insomnia, eczema, nausea, and menstrual cramps.
In essential oil practices, lavender is a multipurpose oil. It is purported to have anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antidepressant, antiseptic, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, as well as antispasmodic, analgesic, detoxifying, hypotensive, and sedative effects.
Health Benefits
Lavender essential oil and its properties have been widely studied. Here's a look at the research.
Anxiety
While there's currently a lack of large-scale clinical trials testing lavender's effects on people with anxiety, a number of studies show that the oil may offer some anti-anxiety benefits.
Several studies have tested lavender's anxiety-reducing effects in specific populations. For example, a study published in Physiology & Behavior in 2005 focused on 200 people awaiting dental treatment and found that breathing in the scent of lavender both lessened anxiety and improved mood.
In addition, a pilot study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice in 2012 indicates that lavender-essential-oil-based aromatherapy may help soothe anxiety in high-risk postpartum women. In an experiment involving 28 women who had given birth in the previous 18 months, researchers found that four weeks of twice-weekly, 15-minute-long aromatherapy sessions helped alleviate depression in addition to lowering anxiety levels.
There's also some evidence that ingesting lavender oil may help relieve anxiety. In a report published in Phytomedicine in 2012, scientists analyzed 15 previously published clinical trials and concluded that dietary supplements containing lavender oil may have some therapeutic effects on patients struggling with anxiety and/or stress.
A more recent review of the literature found 5 studies (2010, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016) showed benefits ins participants with moderate to severe anxiety.
Insomnia
Several studies have shown that lavender essential oil may help promote sleep and fight insomnia.
A 2015 study published in the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine found a combination of sleep hygiene techniques and lavender essential oil therapy helped college students get a better night's sleep than sleep hygiene alone. The study of 79 students with self-reported sleep problems also found inhaling lavender at bedtime improved daytime energy and vibrancy.
A 2018 study published in Holistic Nursing Practice confirms lavender's effect on sleep. In this study of 30 residents of a nursing home, lavender aromatherapy was found to improve sleep onset, quality, and duration in an elderly population.
Allergies
Many essential oil proponents recommend using a combination of lavender, lemon, and peppermint oil to relieve allergy symptoms, and claim that lavender is a natural antihistamine. A 1999 study printed in the J Pharm Pharmaceuticals did find that lavender oil inhibits immediate type allergic reactions in mice and rats.
Possible Side Effects
Lavender essential oil may cause skin irritation or an allergic reaction in some individuals. If you experience nausea, vomiting, or a headache after using lavender, discontinue use immediately.
Because consuming lavender essential oil can have toxic effects, this remedy should not be ingested unless under the supervision of a medical professional.
Dosage and Preparation
There is no recommended daily allowance for lavender essential oil. According to the principles of aromatherapy, breathing in the scent of lavender essential oil or applying lavender essential oil to the skin transmits messages to the limbic system, a brain region known to influence the nervous system and help regulate emotion.
One popular approach involves combining lavender oil with a carrier oil (such as jojoba or sweet almond). Once blended with a carrier oil, lavender essential oil can be massaged into your skin or added to your bath.
You can also sprinkle a few drops of lavender essential oil onto a cloth or tissue and inhale its aroma, or add the oil to an aromatherapy diffuser or vaporizer.
What to Look For
Essential oils are not regulated by the FDA and do not have to meet any purity standards. When purchasing essential oils, look for a supplier who either distills their own material or deals directly with reputable distillers, and uses gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to analyze the quality of the product.
When buying pure lavender essential oil, check the label for its Latin name, Lavandula Angustifolia. No other oils or ingredients should be listed. If you see another oil, such as fractionated coconut oil, jojoba oil, or sweet almond oil, the lavender is diluted and should not be used in a diffuser.
Essential oils should be packaged in a dark amber or cobalt bottle and stored out of sunlight.
A New Chapter Begins
2020 begins an exciting new chapter for Gunner Ridge Farm with the introduction of our new business Glacier View Lavender! Gunner Ridge Farm began as an alpaca farm in 2013. In the fall of 2019 we were fortunate enough to purchase a second farm back in our hometown location in the Hood River Valley. After several years of searching, we found our ideal property on 27 acres in the tiny community of Mt.Hood which is nestled at the northern foot of the beautiful volcano Mt.Hood. The farm is located on the banks of the East Fork of the Hood River, tucked in between Toll Bridge Park and several upper valley orchards.
During the fall of 2019 we were able to settle the alpacas, chickens, ducks, geese and dogs in to their new pastures just prior to the first snow fall. Scout, our miniature stallion pony joined the herd as the first snowflakes dusted the farm. Fall also found us quickly harvesting the 30 specialty fruit trees, starting construction on an extension to the barn and figuring out the irrigation system. Additionally, Mary continued to juggle 2 jobs and Alex moved the entire farm across the state with help from our wonderful family.
With the arrival of winter came a time of business planning and research. We selected 3 varieties of lavender to order for late spring planting in 2020. We chose Gross Bleu and Super for their high quality essential oil production and Provence for its fine culinary properties. While producing high quality essential oils is our main focus, we also plan to tap into our creative side by designing and making several lavender products to sell. These will include hand crafted artisinal soaps, lotions, bath products, hydrosols and of course fine culinary lavender.
Stay tuned for seasonal updates on what is going on at Gunner Ridge Farm and Glacier View Lavender. There will be a lot of wonderful additions and changes as our veteran owned family farm grows!