Lavender farm opens with flowers in full bloom

Ian Jamie said the lavender had been lovingly-planted and tended

A lavender farm has opened for the summer with some flowers already in full bloom and set to be at their best for the next few weeks, its owner has said.

Ian Jamie and his wife Pippa set up Warwickshire Lavender Farm in Bubbenhall as a retirement project with friends.

The farm grows three types of lavender and one, Lavandula Angustifolia Folgate, is "completely out" while two other species, Lavandula Angustifolia Maillette and Lavandula Intermedia Grosso, are "virtually out", he said.

He said the best time to see them was now, adding: "My worry is that by mid-July, the flowers might be slightly over, so it's at its best I would say now – any time from now on until the middle of July."

Mr Jamie described how the farm was a field used for livestock when he bought it in 2016 and "a bit of a mess", but now 20,000 lavender plants are spread across eight acres, with essential oils distilled on site.

As a beekeeper he would take his bees to Devon and sometimes to Shropshire, for the lavender there, and his farm came into being after he thought: "Why don't we grow our own lavender for my bees."

He said they were lucky because the lavender loved the sandy, well-drained soil and it grew "really well".

The lavender loves the sandy, well-drained soil in Bubbenhall, Mr Jamie said

The farm opens for a short window in the summer and Mr Jamie said it was "always exciting".

"It's important to us people get something from the day in the lavender," he said.

He said the lavender had been "lovingly-planted and tended" and the farm was "well on the way".