Lavender Day mantra: It's more than a plant, it's a lifestyle

Many of us are aware that lavender thrives in Folsom due to the region's Mediterranean-like climate. And it's fairly common knowledge that lavender is a popular fragrance in essential oils and other aromatic products. But serious lavender fans – connoisseurs, if you will – believe the plant's true allure is next level: "I just think it's a natural happy," says Christine Eschen, who owns Tres Jolie Lavender Farm in Grass Valley and is the lead director for the United States Lavender Growers Association. Die-hard lavender enthusiasts, those who were just learning about the plant and others who were in between showed up for this year's Lavender Day event, hosted by Folsom's Historic Murer House and Garden. Lavender Day is held the first Saturday of every June as a mid-year garden event. (The Murer House also has a Camelia Day the last Saturday of every February, but that's another flower and another story.) There were lavender plants on display, of course, donated by Green Valley Nursery and Supply. Many of those plants were won in raffles. There was a bee expert on hand who gave a talk about the symbiotic relationship of lavender and bees. He explained bees are huge fans of lavender, because the flower provides a plethora of pollen and nectar for them throughout the summer. Lavender makes bees happy, too. A new feature of Lavender Day this year, according to Murer House Projects Coordinator Rhonda DesVoignes, was cooking demonstrations with lavender, by Italian instructors. "They had three different desserts," DesVoignes said. "Breads and scones and cookies that they made (with lavender) and they're giving samples and you can buy some." Apparently, the samples were so delicious they ran out fast; this reporter did not get a chance to try any. Lavender Day also brought out a large number of vendors who sold and displayed products associated with lavender, bees, or both. There were unique art pieces, such as a painting of a yellow labrador retriever sitting gleefully in a sea of lavender flowers. There was lavender honey, lavender salt, even lavender-infused cosmetics. Danielle Marquis owns El Dorado Hills Soap, a homemade soap company. She featured several lavender-inspired soaps and said she was delighted by the whole vibe of the event: kindred spirits all sharing their special relationship with lavender. "I love this," Marquis said. "This is my first time at this event, and I am enjoying it very much." Fragrance combinations such as lavender and sage, rosemary lavender and lemongrass and lavender bergamot are extremely popular, said Marquis. But it's not just the lovely fragrance that is the appeal of lavender. "It blends well with a lot of other essential oils," said Marquis. "I always feel like lavender relaxes me. That's why I personally like using lavender." Relaxation and stress reduction are why lavender products are only growing in popularity, according to Eschen, who began Tres Jolie Lavender Farm in 2016; today, her lavender-infused Hippie Chick Body Butter is a top seller. "I just think it has a lot of medicinal qualities and it's great for helping people to relax," Eschen said. "It's a natural antiseptic, a bug repellant. It just has so many different qualities." Eschen said it's not just lavender products that are catching on; more people are ditching their stressful mainstream jobs and starting their own lavender farms. One feature of these farms that visitors love is the ability to step into a field and pick their own fresh flowers. A therapeutic bouquet. "You put it on your skin, it goes right into your system so it's very powerful all by itself," Eschen explains. "You can be in the fields and just run your fingers through the flowers. I've had people come out and pick some and actually get super giddy because they're in the lavender and it goes in and just makes them happy." And that's the point, according to Eschen and others at this year's Lavender Day event. Lavender is not just a plant, it's a soothing escape from today's stressful world. It's happy puppies in an endless field of pale purple. And for some, it's a lifestyle. Yet all this does make one wonder, why didn't The Beatles sing instead about Lavender Fields Forever?