The Texas Bucket List – Blanco Lavender Festival

BLANCO, Texas – Out in the Texas Hill Country along the banks of the Blanco, you’ll find fields that are pleasing to the pupil thanks to a plethora of purple. The color of royalty runs rampant here, and if you stay a while you’ll find fields, festivals – even a few drinks – dedicated to lavender.
“There are not very many places in the world, let alone the United States, or in Texas, that you can find lavender,” said Tasha Brieger, owner and operator of Hill Country Lavender since 2005.
Her farm was the first of nine in the Lavander Capital of Texas. It’s an impressive statistic considering this plant is not native to the Lone Star State, but thanks to a few Texan attributes, they’re doing pretty well in our part of the world.
“They can handle a lot. They’re tough little plants. You just have to get them in the ground and get their roots established and then they handle it,” said Brieger.
From mid-May to July these plants put on an amazing display for the eyes and a sweet sensation for the senses. People flock from all around to make their own cut of a few of the fragrant flora.
“So, what you do when you come out and cut your own, you’re going to take the scissors and you’re going to go down to the base right before the leaves,” Brieger said.
The buds are used to make the lavender beauty products that customers love. Blooms lower on the stem are used for oil, and higher blooms are cut to be dried. But, if you’re cutting for yourself, you can cut at any point.
When you have such a unique and beautiful plant that smells like a fancy French perfume prospering in a small town, it’s no surprise that it’s led to a little celebration for this pretty plum perennial.
Libbey Aly showed us around the annual Lavender Festival, held every June in Blanco.  Here you’ll find out all sorts of interesting uses for the flower, which happens to be related to the mint leaf.
“Oh, gosh, it’s used for everything. You can cook with it, you can infuse it and make tea out of it, they make wine out of it, you can spritz it on your body, they make body products, you can use it for your pet, you can repel bugs, you can sanitize your home, you can make your home smell good, you can put it on your temples if you have a headache – it’s ancient.  They used to use it, Cleopatra and Marc Antony used lavender,” said Aly.
The profusion of uses for this mauve-colored flower might help explain the craze that folks have for the festival, especially in the case of Robert Hall, who covered himself in every shade of lavender imaginable for the big day.
“It’s always been a pleasant color for me, so it’s one of my favorite colors,” said Hall. “I do blues and that, but I really like lavender.”
He then led the way to one provocative purple potion, a little mixed drink made out of – you guessed it – lavender. The Lavender Lizzie is a sweet libation made out of lavender margarita mix and some bubbly to bring you good cheer while you’re celebrating at the festival.
The smiles, laughter, and love that the residents and visitors of Blanco have for this aromatic plant makes all of the effort put into planning such a big day worth it.
“That’s why I love my business. The joy people see,” said Brieger.
So start your summer with a sensational stroll through the fields of purple flowers in Blanco County at the annual Lavander Festival, well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.