Like any working farm, everything has its season at Bridestowe.
Summer
The lavender flowers are in full bloom and we harvest these throughout the summer. Bridestowe’s bees pollinate the flowers and begin producing our signature lavender honey. The endless curved rows of lavender blooms will take your breath away and create a memory to last a lifetime.
Autumn
Each year after flowering, we prune the lavender bushes by about a third to stimulate growth for the year ahead. Without pruning, the shrubs grow thin and scraggly, which reduces the amount of flowers and oil that can be collected. Our gardens come into their own in autumn as the leaves change colour and create a technicolour landscape.
Winter
Winter is a time for regeneration at Bridestowe and we use cuttings to create new plantings. These can take up to four years to achieve good flower density and optimum oil production. Lavender plants are very sensitive to competition for nutrients and water, so each winter we weed the lavender fields by hand. At this time of year our guests enjoy sitting in front of our fire and watching the snow fall on Mount Arthur which frames our lavender fields against the moody sky.
Spring
Weeding continues during spring as the plants grow and buds develop, preparing for flowering in summer. The many bulbs and shrubs in our gardens come to life as the weather warms to complement the landscape art dotted around the Estate.
