Lavandula is a taste of Europe in the centre of Victoria. Sun drenched hills, old golden stone farm buildings, a beautiful garden. The farm grows lavender, olives and grapes, and the daytime licensed cafe sources ingredients seasonally from the garden.
Walk in the beautiful grounds. Play petanque. Enjoy a glass of wine with lunch in the ash grove. Or a picnic by the creek.
Lavandula was built in the 1860s by Italians from southern Switzerland. They came for gold, but found they could buy land and establish smallholdings. Run as a dairy farm for four generations, it was restored and revived, returned with great style and imagination to its mixed farm heritage, Lavandula is a credit to Carol's extraordinary vision.
Down a driveway lined with Lombardy poplars, this postcard-pretty farm on a curve of the Jim Crow Creek at Shepherds Flat, near Daylesford, produces lavender, olives, quinces, chestnuts, grapes and vegetables. Lavender and summer vegetables are harvested in January, chestnuts in March, grapes in March-April and olives and quinces in May. The produce grown at Lavandula is used in La Trattoria - Lavandula's café - or sold to visitors.
In the delightful cobbled stone barn, you can purchase the farm's own lavender-enriched skin products, massage and essential oils, hair products, pet care and floral waters and, of course, lavender sachets to tuck away in bed linen. Edible treats include jams, relishes, chutneys, honey and biscuits, while artworks, gifts and homewares add to the rustic charm of this stylish shop.
In all seasons visitors can meet farmyard animals, play boules or stroll through the carefully tended parterre, potager and herb gardens to see the produce where it grows.
You'll be restored by the tranquillity and the fresh air. Lavandula Farm will leave you with a deeper understanding of the wonderful therapeutic qualities of its much-loved namesake.
Wine and other sipping things
Lavandula has produced several vintages of wine, and makes its own Lavender Lemonade - great with soda water or champagne.
La Trattoria at Lavandula
La Trattoria is a licensed, critically acclaimed daytime cafe at Lavandula. A stroll through Lavandula's gardens takes you to a cafe serving food that is seasonal, fresh and explores the Mediterranean cuisine. You'll find jams, preserves and the renowned lavender lemonade cordial.
Changing with the seasons, La Trattoria's lunch menu might include antipasto, risotto, pasta, organic duck-liver pate and char-grilled lamb. And there's La Trattoria's glorious tortes, cakes and lavender scones.
Eat lunch or enjoy a boccalino (small Italian sipping jug) of estate wine al fresco in the ash grove, with a foreground view of lavender and the olive grove and a volcano beyond! Read the paper in the snug timber room or the stone loggia, accompanied by a glass of regional wine. What better way to relax and soak up the atmosphere of this enchanting place?
Well, yes, after-hours the light and the atmosphere changes, making a very special location for a special private function ...
Product Availability:
Direct from the farm gate or by mail order.
Lavandula is open 10.30 am - 5.30 pm daily 1 September-31 May, in winter open weekends and school holidays only through June, July, August - with La Trattoria closed all August.
La Trattoria offers a midweek special - entry, chef's mains and a glass of wine for $25 (which includes entry $3.50)
|
- Address
- 350 Newstead Hepburn Road, Shepherds Flat, Victoria, Australia, 3461
- Telephone
- 5476 4393
- Fax
- 5476 4390
- Website
- Click Here
- Opening Hours
- See copy for details
- Town
- Hepburn Springs
- Contact
- Carol White
|
