Friday, June 8, 2012

Blanco Lavender Festival

The Blanco Lavender Festival is underway in the Texas Hill Country this weekend, June 8 - 10.  The drought has clearly taken its toll on the lavender farms but it's still a good time to visit the historic towns of Blanco, Johnson City, and Wimberley.

Lavender plants in bloom


Beautiful vistas of the hill country


Plenty of lavender plants available


Wildflowers are lovely too


This winecup was the subject of some interest from a couple of visitors.

"What's this flower" she said
"It's a weed" he said
I offered "It's a winecup, one of our native wildflowers.  It may be a weed to some, but a wildflower to me!"


She was pleased.  He not so much.  Oh well.

There's also plenty to see and do at the festival on the beautiful Old Blanco County Courthouse grounds.  Vendor tents go all the way around the building in double rows.


Gorgeous plants for sale


Colorful garden art too


Can't get enough of these vintage stone buildings in the Texas Hill Country


The Blanco Lavender Festival is going on now through Sunday June 10th.

I'll be posting photos of our tour of beautiful Texas Hill Country back roads soon.

8 comments:

  1. Sounds like a more laid-back time than the Abq lavender festival. I like how they are grown there...here, it's flooded fields in the valley..."sustainable" since the water goes back into the water table, and the thirsty plants (in the desert) somehow don't use it, dontcha' know!

    Thanks for the building shots and wildflower dialogue, too. Wildflower or weed is so much about how it's used:-)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Most of the lavender farms around here do not irrigate or only minimally, especially since Blanco and surrounding towns ran completely out of water last year. I think one reason they had so many visitors this year despite the missing lavender is the regional effort to support a hard-hit community.

      It was almost surreal to hear that actual exchange right next to me!

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  2. The lavender looks so at home there. Surprisingly, it does well here, too...maybe different varieties.

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    Replies
    1. There are many different types of Lavender, including very cold hardy ones. We need heat and drought tolerant types here.

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  3. Would you believe Lavender plants grow well in Sweden ? I have 10 plants in my yard since I've lived here. I thought the extreme cold and wet here wouldn't allow such a plant that I associate with warmer Mediterranean regions.

    Beautiful pics of Lavender and other wildflowers. Is that firewheel or Gaillardia under that Mesquite Bush ?

    I'd love to see your San Antonio. At the end of this month my wife and I will be going to Silkeborg Dänemark. We were there before once during a convention visit and the whole town was a giant Jazz Festival. In this one square there was a Mexican Restaurant called La Casita. The decor was extremely authentic and the food was fantastic. I had to go back into the kitchen and find out who exactly was this cook and owner. It was a Danish gal who had lived in San Antonio, Texas for 12 years. Go figure!. We will return there this time as well.

    I want to play at Neubraunsfeld Schlitterbahn.

    Cheers, Kevin

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  4. Thanks for stopping by Kevin, your comments made me smile thinking of an authentic Mexican Restaurant in Denmark reminded me of walking past one in Paris where all the diners were wearing giant sombreros! Enjoy your trip to Denmark, we visited there years ago but didn't try any Mexican restaurants.

    I am surprised Lavender grows in Sweden but with good drainage I could see this since it also grew well for me when I lived in the much colder northeast.

    The flower is a Gaillardia pulchella. The bush is an Agarita, one of our natives. You wouldn't want to tangle with it any more than a Mesquite though.

    San Antonio is a pretty city, I think you would enjoy it. Schlitterbahn sounds like a good idea as we get into the hottest part of our year.

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  5. When I lived in Colorado Springs I grew Lavender in a clay pot of solid 3/4" crushed limestone rock. It flourished and survived the winter. Unfortunately the clay pot was a cheapo and frost cracked.

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  6. Fun post & thanks for the tour. I have two types of lavender in my garden right now. I can't pass by them without rubbing the leaves and having a smell. We have too much humidity to grow them properly but still we try here along the coast. Looks like a fun event!
    David/:0)

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