Growing up at the border between Pickering and Scarborough, I’ve always had a soft spot for Durham Region. It always felt like my (not-so-secret) place to go to for a hike, grab a bite to eat at the Pickering waterfront, or go cider tasting.
This month I had the chance to explore parts of Durham Region that I had never seen before, and I jumped at the chance. I had a taster experience of the Rural Routes of Durham, and was very pleased to partner with Durham Region & The Blogger Collective for this adventure.
I can confidently say that Durham Region has something for everyone. Wine? They’ve got that. Cute animals? Yep, those too. Delicious restaurants? Fresh produce? Check and check. In this series, I’m going to explore some of my favourite spots in Durham Region.
Stop and smell the lavender at Lavender Blu
Lavender Blu is a small eco farm focusing on native garden, protecting species and the natural environment. The goal is to protect the environment and coexist with wildlife. Their motto is to cultivate calm, and they’ve truly done this with their remarkable farm.
All visitors receive a booklet and can embark on a self guided educational tour of the garden. There are 12 stops to explore, and each one is unique.
Instead of growing rows and rows of lavender, they grow it more ecologically. Here, lavender grows organically, without fertilizer or an irrigation system. The farm grows other crops, like Saksatoon berries, raspberries, black currants, hazelnuts and even apples. There’s always something in bloom from April until November.
Another mission of Lavender Blu is to promote local. They invite artists into their space to create, and offer a shop to sell their wares. They currently support about 80 artists annually. The artists include fashion designers, quilters, photographers, painters and more. The run seasonal workshops, like basket weaving, and culinary workshops. They even have a workshop to make your own jam over a fire with their black currants!
No visit is complete without a visit to their tiny, magical studio. Bundles of dried lavender line the walls and shelves, filling the air with a peaceful lavender scent. There’s lavender soap, honey, tea, art and many more artisan products.
Artisan and owner Ludmila Haynos-Owen says, “As an artisan, I have chosen a somewhat unprecedented medium – lavender. I consider lavender “living art” – it is an ancient herb of a very versatile nature, one which for centuries has been utilized in many different art forms and due to its well-known scent, adds yet another dimension to an artisan studio.
The versatility of lavender is so broad that it touches many artisanal avenues: ceramics, weaving, painting, photography, the art of distillation, landscape design, culinary arts, aromatherapy, flower arranging and horticulture to name a few. Therefore, running a lavender artisan studio encompasses a broad spectrum of these avenues with the lavender acting as the keystone and binding thread. In the lavender studio I work with textiles, wool fibres, watercolours, clay, raw organic substances, aromatic essential oils, fresh pliable lavender as well as the dried lavender buds to create unique lavender artisan products.”
Learn more about Lavender Blu, and check out their workshops. Workshops include Yoga, offered from June to September. Enjoy a gentle sunrise or sunset yoga class overlooking the beautiful lavender eco-farm. Each class is 45 minutes and is offered at sunrise or sunset. It also includes a tour of the farm and studio.
This was just one stop of many on the Sideroads of Scugog rural route. This self-guided tour will take you to local wineries, sunflower farms and family farms with fresh produce, just to name a few.
Why should you head to Durham Region?
- It’s close! Pickering, the gateway to the region, is only 30 minutes away from downtown Toronto by car. It’s also very easy to access with GO Transit.
- There’s so much to see. Durham Region is actually a combination of 8 cities and towns: Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Clarington, Uxbridge and Brock.
- There’s always something to do. In the summer, you can pick strawberries and go to cute farms. In the fall, it’s pumpkin season. Celebrate by visiting a harvest festival or go apple picking! In the winter, grab your skies or snowboard and hit the trails. Finally, when spring is around the corner, you can tap maple trees for fresh syrup.
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