Scenes from the Lavender Festival at The Farm at SummitWynds in Holden, MA

Every year in late June, The Farm at SummitWynds in Holden, Massachusetts, hosts a festival to celebrate the abundant swaths of purple and white lavender blooms that cover the fields. Visitors can pick bundles of flowers on the hillside cutting garden for sachets, oils, culinary use, and fresh or dried arrangements. Or try a solid twist of soft-serve lavender ice cream piled into a lavender-infused waffle cone. There are locally made brews, too: “BuzzSaw” from Seven Saws Brewing Company and Lavender Lookout Wine from Hardwick Winery, which uses lavender grown at SummitWynds. In the wee gift shop, culinary buds are sold in jars, as are handmade soaps, sachets, lavender honey, lavender lemon granola (from Golden Girl Granola), and lavender marshmallows and caramels (from Moeshmallows). Who knew there were so many ways to experience this fragrant plant?    

The farm, located in a small town outside of Worcester, was conceived around the healing properties of lavender when owner Amy Parker’s husband was battling brain cancer. Unfortunately, he lost that battle, but lavender helped soothe his pain. It also fueled Amy’s passion to continue farming with her daughter Amanda’s help. 

The property itself also has a fascinating history. In the early 1900s, it was known as “The Summit” when a 45-room hotel anchored the property. Later, after the building was destroyed by fire, the sloping terrain was reimagined as a ski hill from the mid-1940s into the 1950s. Amy’s parents bought the property in the 1960s and ran it as a horse farm. It continues to evolve with new life and purpose under Amy’s direction. Over 4,000 plants spanning 21 varieties of lavender currently thrive on this sunny hillside, and Amy hopes to continue expanding the lavender fields.

Every year, throngs of friends, couples, and families (often wearing lavender-hued shades) flock to the farm for photo ops at various spots in and around the main lavender field, affectionately called “The Photographers Field.”  A vintage farm truck, tractor, benches, and arbors—even a vintage clawfoot tub painted an appropriate shade of light purple—surround the field with the beautiful flowering lavender as a backdrop.

Bees happily buzz alongside people in the fields, enjoying this pollinator oasis. Vendors selling handmade items are set up below the hillside cutting garden. Live plants are for sale—my mom purchased several for her home garden including pollinator favorite ‘Melissa Lilac’ and long-stemmed ‘Phenomenal.’ Our car ride home was filled with the wonderful fragrant smell of the lavender.

The Lavender Festival at The Farm at SummitWynds Info:

Tickets go on sale in early April and often sell out quickly, so set a reminder if you’d like to attend next year. Visit thefarmatsummitwynds.com to learn more about the festival and the farm’s other events.

Scenes From the Lavender Festival at The Farm at SummitWynds

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