Family Day Trip to Terre Bleu Lavender Farm
*Originally written on August 14, 2018
With our summer's being quite short it seems, we've been trying to explore Ontario a bit more with day trips or mini getaways. While running my full time wedding photography business for most of the last decade, I've had very little time to get away in the summers that wasn't business related. Now that I've taken a break from shooting weddings and K has summers off from school, we had to take advantage of the beauty that's so close to us! One of the main places I've been really dying to visit is a lavender farm and so we decided to go to Terre Bleu which is less than an hour outside of Toronto.
Generally lavender is in season starting near the middle of July, so we made sure to check out the farm's website for updates for when the lavender was in bloom. We've been to pick-your-own fruit farms where we've been too early or have missed the season completely. Lavender season ends near the end of August so you don't want to wait too long when the farm has to harvest the blooms and they are all gone.
They actually have a lot of different varieties of lavender on the farm and some are more fragrant than others. They also have a little gift shop at the front of the farm where they sell all kinds of products made from their lavender. If you're a fan of lavender or know someone that is, it's a great place to shop to support a local business.
I've also have had couples and families ask me about having their shoot at a lavender farm. I believe the rules for photography are different at every farm but with Terre Bleu you need a photography permit and they do get quite busy. Don't let my photos fool you, I did have to photoshop out a lot of people in the background or do some intentional cropping while I was taking the photos.
Besides the beautiful long rows of lavender, at the back of the farm you can see their honeybees hard at work as well as a little garden with an herb bar. Nice little spot for refreshments for a hot day. We didn't try one because we were looking forward to another special treat but the herb bar was another popular spot on the farm.
I have to say K was the most excited about trying their lavender ice cream, I was too! We saved it for the end of our visit so that we could just enjoy the ice cream and enjoy the view of the farm from the main building instead of walking around with the ice cream and worrying about it melting everywhere. They serve the ice cream from the side of the main building but you need to go and purchase a ticket from the gift shop first. And yes, if you're wondering if the lavender ice cream is pricy, it is. However, it's worth it, it's so fresh and full of lavender flavour. K still talks about the "purple" ice cream to this day!
We had such a nice time at Terre Bleu, if you're looking for a low-key mini trip this would definitely do it. I want to check out some other lavender farms too, let me know which ones are your favourites and would recommend going to.
OUTFITS
K's shoes | Jelly Sandals
K's dress | Chambray Sleeveless Dress