Our Story
Sustainable Lavender Farm 📷📷
Purple Rain Lavender Farm is a small 16 acre farm in beautiful Harford County in the town of Churchville, Maryland. Situated minutes from I-95, the farm is centrally located near the communities of Bel Air, Havre De Grace, and Aberdeen. Purple Rain Lavender Farm is owned by locals Tom and Pam Fry. The farm has had a rich history since 1962 of raising horses and farm crops. In 2007, Tom, Pam, and their children moved to the family farm and began sharing in the duties of her parents small farm, raising horses, and harvesting hay. Over the past nine years the Fry family has fostered the love for horses and animals started by her grandparents and parents over the past 50 years. During the years of caring for horses the family found lavender to provide benefits for their animals and reduced the insect pests around the barn. Today, Purple Rain Lavender Farm is a flegling lavender farming business, with horses, goats, chickens, dogs and cats roaming the farm. We hope to carry on the family love of farming in the rich soils of Northeastern Harford County sharing a love for a heritage plant that has brought so much benefit and calm to the people and pets on Purple Rain Lavender Farm.
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Clean up time on the farm - Lots of work readying the fields and plants for lavender days. Those gray looking plants are lavender in the photo and just starting to wake up for Spring. We get lots of questions and call on when the lavender will be in bloom and when the fields will open - Lavender typically begins blooming in our area around the end of May with the english plants showing purple first and then the french lavender starts about mid June. We plan to open end of May for weekend hours and our Harvest Days will be last two weeks in June (approximately). We are booking our group farm tours now and scheduling our photo sessions - call the farm for more info or email us at
[email protected]
See you on the farm in May.
Happy Spring Y'all! the flowers are beginning to come alive and we are gearing up for spring planting and clearing fields. Each day everything looks a little more green on the farm with a lot more work to be done. If you haven't stopped by The Mill or Tractor Supply the baby chicks are in and so adorable.
Happy Valentine's Day from all of us to all of you! Here's our recipe for a great Valentine's breakfast or brunch muffin or really anytime you need a chocolate fix - lavender chocolate and chocolate chip muffins. Great warm from the oven on any day of the year but, especially lovely on Valentine's Day - enjoy!
LUSCIOUS LAVENDER CHOCOLATE DOUBLE STUFF MUFFINS
Ingredients:
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of white sugar
• ¾ cup chocolate chips OR chocolate chunks
• 1 tablespoons finely chopped lavender florets
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup chocolate chips
Directions
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
• Combine flour, sugar, 3/4 cup chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk egg, yogurt, milk, and vegetable oil in another bowl until smooth; pour into chocolate mixture and stir until batter is just blended. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
• Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
We love Valentine's Day here on the farm - not that we ever need an excuse to make chocolate desserts, but- with February 14th on the horizon we love to make some chocolate treats for gifting. If you are looking for a quick and luscious homemade Valentine's Day treat (or great any time you need a chocolate fix) make a batch of our Dark Chocolate Bark with Lavender Flowers and Sea Salt.
Recipe
Ingredients
16 Squares of dark chocolate (1 oz each) (You can use white chocolate too but, the sea salt pairs better with the dark chocolate)
1/2 cup of english culinary lavender florets, rinsed dried and crushed
1 tablespoon of sea salt
Directions
Melt chocolate, In a microwave heat on high in increments of 20 seconds or you can use a double boiler (preferred method). Be sure to stir chocolate continuously; it will not appear to be melting at first, as the microwave heats it from the inside out, on the double boiler you will see edges melt first.(stirring is key)
Add lavender florets, should be pretty finely crushed, stir until thoroughly mixed. Now pour lavender infused chocolate onto parchment covered baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt flakes and a few more lavender buds for garnish while still warm (not hot).
Refrigerate until set. Now break into pieces 1-2 inches in size nothing larger. Place in treat bags and tie with bow for gifting for Valentine's Day or any special occaision- be sure to keep a treat bag or two for yourself.
Enjoy!
Chocolate has some great heart healthy benefits too - :)
As the cold days of January are pushing us to stay warm here in Churchville, we welcome a chance to enjoy a cup of lavender tea as we peruse the seed catalogs or a good novel. Our lavender tea blends are a great way to bring calm into this chaotic world even if only for a little while. The warming scent of lavender will help to remind you to stop... breath... relax....even if only for a few minutes🙂.
HAPPY SNOWY NEW YEAR 2022 - FROM ALL OF US HERE AT THE FARM! WISHING YOU ALL GOOD HEALTH, GREAT JOY, AND PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR THE NEW YEAR!
Well we haven't had all that much cold weather, but this is a great time of year to celebrate or just warm up on a cold evening with a mulled wine and a little shortbread.
Happy Holidays !
Mulled wine
1 bottle red wine
2 tablespoons light brown or golden caster sugar
1 large piece orange peel
2 cinnamon sticks, plus extra to stir
Whole nutmeg
1 orange, sliced, studded with cloves
1 tsp of lavender florets in (cheesecloth bag with other spices
Place the wine, sugar, orange peel, cinnamon and a generous grating of nutmeg, and lavender (in cheesecloth) in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. (Do not allow to boil, or you will boil off the alcohol). Place an orange slice in each serving glass/mug, pour the wine mixture and serve with a cinnamon stick as a stirrer. Mulled wine is a perfect winter warmer but if you would like to try a non-alcoholic version or your children would like to make a version of this drink, just replace the red wine with a good quality grape juice or apple juice.
Lavender scented shortbread
2 teaspoons dried lavender
¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
2.5 cups plain flour
Sprinkling sugar for garnish
Preheat oven 325 degrees and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Place lavender in a coffee or spice grinder, grind until a fine powder. Place butter and lavender powder in a food processor, process until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, flour process until it forms a firm dough. Do not over work. Tip onto a work surface and knead lightly, using a little bit of flour to prevent dough from sticking.
Roll dough into a sausage shape log about 2 – 3 inches in diameter. Cover in cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes until stiff enough to cut.
Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on your oven, check bottoms of shortbread and remove as soon as they turn a until pale golden (do not over cook). Cool slightly, then transfer to a rack for finish cooling – garnish with sprinkling sugar or leave plan.
Makes about 3 dozen
