The Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm in Fitch Bay Quebec

A visit to the Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm in Quebec

Hard to believe, but in the Cantons de l'Est in Quebec The scent of lavender is in the air. At least at the Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm in Fitch Bay, Quebec, lavender is cultivated to extract the oils from the plant.

Admittedly, it wasn't easy to treat the lavender in Canada's harsh climate so that it could survive the severe winters, which are characterized by frosts and temperatures well below zero.

Patrick Samson, the owner of Bleu Lavande, the lavender farm in Fitch Bay, Quebec, knows all about it. "The beginning was difficult," he laughs, a massive understatement.

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Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm in Fitch Bay Quebec

Lavender growing in Quebec is difficult

The first attempts to grow lavender in Quebec failed completely. Patrick had traveled to lavender-growing regions around the world to learn as much as possible about cultivation methods.

Armed with this knowledge, he began in 1999 to build the heart of his now Bleu Lavande lavender farm, the distillery.

He already had the building materials on site. He used hemlock wood, which grows on his property.

It took two years to clear the land and prepare the fields. In 2002, he had 70.000 lavender plants planted in his fields.

Then disaster struck: in the winter of 2002, temperatures were well below average. There was hardly any snow. Conditions that made fears of the worst possible. That's how it was: in the spring of 2003, 80% of the plants were destroyed.

A fresh start at Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm in Quebec

But Patrick Samson refused to be discouraged: He and his team rolled up their sleeves and saved 10.000 plants. In July of this year, they planted 15.000 new plants, which they nurtured and cared for throughout the summer.

They wanted to make them strong enough to survive the Quebec winter. To minimize the risk, they covered the lavender fields thickly with straw before the onset of winter.

The work paid off: In the spring of 2004, the lavender plants had survived the winter cold well.

The development of Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm could begin. Today, the farm is the only certified producer of lavender oil in all of Canada. More than 100.000 lavender plants thrive in the fields.

Lavender flowers at Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm in Fitch Bay Quebec

The scent of lavender at Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm

We smell it immediately as we park our car in the parking lot in front of the store. The scent of lavender is so intense that it inevitably draws us inside.

There we meet Patrick, who greets us and sends us out into the fields. "You're two weeks too early," he says. "The plants don't bloom until mid-July. But you can already imagine what it will look like then." He's right; you can already see a few of the blossoms that make the lavender fields so attractive in summer.

A field of lavender

A field stretches from the shop and the distillery to the edge of the forest. Lavender bushes grow there in straight rows.

Inside a greenhouse, we get a glimpse of how beautiful it must be when this field bursts into blue bloom. Lavender has been planted in pots there, and the plants are already flowering.

The fragrance is intense. But even more beautiful is the blue of the blossoms. How stunning it must be when the whole field looks like this. A reason to come back again later in the year? Absolutely.

What you need to hike through the lavender fields

Good hiking boots are a must on every hike. Only then can you enjoy your hike.
For a snack on the way you need a backpack. You can put your snack in a lunch box and accommodate everything you need for your day trip.

The great products of lavender from Bleu Lavande

Back in the shop, we discover all the things Patrick makes with these blossoms. The shop offers soaps, shampoos, shower gels, oils, and much more. Everything smells wonderfully of this plant. A feast for the senses.

Bleu Lavande Estate
891, chemin Narrow (route 247)
Stanstead (Fitch Bay) Qc, Canada, J0B 3E0

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Do you know this?

Source: Bleu Lavande Lavender Farm in Fitch Bay, Quebec: On-site research with the support of Tourism Quebec. We are very grateful for their assistance. However, our opinion remains our own, as always.

The scent of lavender in Quebec on the Bleu Lavande farm