Purple and White Bearded Iris at Purple Ranch

Purple and White Bearded Iris at Purple Ranch, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

The wind and rain have really taken a tole on the iris's. This one however has endured the elements. I hope you enjoy. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Hand

Purple Ranch Lavender Farm Sign

Purple Ranch Lavender Farm Sign, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

What a great weekend at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. One of my first blogs talked about the sign that James, with Cut of Steel, did for us. This sign weighs over 300 lbs. It felt like we had opened our doors for the first time. We now have a sign that people can identify with Purple Ranch. It does feel good to get this project finished. We still have to run the electrical to it. At night the purple part lights up with LED lights. Really cool. Come out and see it. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Hand

The Purple Ranch Family

Hand Family, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Most of you know that my Mom started a lavender farm about 3 years ago. I thought I'd share some of the rest of the story. Yes, we faced all types of trials and adversity as we started this farm. We lost 75 percent of our crop the first year. The above photo tells some of the rest of the story. Four years ago my youngest sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. There are four of us kids and none of us had had any physical problems but now it was different. As we all watched my sister Brenda grow in her faith but wither down to almost a skeleton as her chemo treatments took all she had. My Mom and Dad would keep her during the week and take her to her treatments. Being a very logical thinker I would sometimes visualize life without her in an effort to prepare myself for the worst. Obviously not in hopes of that, but in my own way dealing with the loss of not only my sister but one of my best friends. I had never seen someone as strong as she was. God took on new meaning for my family. We were at the bottom just looking up wondering what next Christmas or Thanksgiving would be like. Would there be one extra plate or gifts under the tree that bore a name but had no recipient. In an effort to support her, all of us that could, shaved our heads to honor her as she lost her hair. I remember the first time I went home and saw everyone sitting there with their new hair styles. We all laughed and joked about the funny shaped heads we all had. Through all of this we learned to not make the outward things important, but see what was in the heart. I saw a family that I could take pride in being one of them. The above picture is all of us honoring my sister Brenda in our own way. During this time my Mom put her dream of the lavender farm on hold in order to take care of Brenda. There is a happy ending to this story. A couple of weeks ago Brenda got a positive bill of health from her doctor. Her cancer has now been in remission for 3 years.

Hand Family, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Above is a picture of her and my Mom a few weeks ago. Alive and well selling lavender at the Tomball German Festival. I know she "Bren" will read my blog some day. So here is my plug. It's good to have you with us Bren. I love you. So, until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Hand

Blue Bonnets at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Blue Bonnets at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Here at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm we are getting ready for a very busy month. For the first time we are going to divide and conquer by doing two festivals at the same time. This weekend will be full of production and history will be made when we lift the 300 lb. plus sign up to it's resting place about 16 feet up in the air. I am looking forward to it. On a design note. I am creating new labels, one product we are very excited about is the lavender/grapefruit soap. It will become part of our signature line but it has really gotten rave reviews in the testing phase. Keep checking www.purpleranch.com for availability. Well, until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Hand

Bird Eggs at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Bird Eggs at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Sad day here at Purple Ranch. I have been watching these eggs each time I go out to the field. They are Killdeer eggs. We see them all over the farm doing their broken wing act when you get close to their nest. This nest was made in an indention where we had rooted up a lavender plant that didn't make it through the rains of last year. So I have been keeping track of these eggs. This weekend when I went to check on them they were gone. No evidence of shells in the nest so I assume a snake or the coyotes that frequent the fields had a midnight snack. Every year we have these nests in our driveway. They lay them right there on the hard aggregate. My Dad told me yesterday that he walked down the drive last year and some young ones had hatched. When he came up on the nest all of them were dead. So he went to tell my Mom. They came out to look at the nest and those chicks were running around until they saw my parents then they played dead again. My Dad said they were laying all over the driveway. That could kind of tie in with that possum shot I saw earlier today. Until next time. Lavender Up!

PS. I will try to get a photo of an adult so you know what I am talking about.

Purple Ranch Hand

Hope at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Hope at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

They say a dog is man's best friend. Hope seems to be Jon's best friend. She loves to give kisses to let you know she is there. She roams Purple Ranch Lavender Farm with her brother Rolo. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Hand

Where is Sid when you need him?

Dandelion at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Every time I see these dandelions in the field I think of the movie Ice Age. Remember, Sid the sloth eats the last known dandelion. I think Purple Ranch needs to get a sloth. As much as I dislike them, they make for interesting photos. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Hand

Purple Bearded Iris at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Purple Bearded Iris at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

This bearded iris really caught me by surprise. I didn't go out there for a couple of days and then when I did this was the treasure I found. I hope you enjoy. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Hand

Mockingbird at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Mockingbird at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Today a I got a photo of a common visitor we have around Purple Ranch. Those of you who know about mockingbirds, you know that if they have a nest they will do anything short of calling out he military to protect their nest. Today I got this shot and came out unscathed. How fortunate for me. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Blue Bonnets at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Blue Bonnets at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

The blue bonnets are really coming out here at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. I finally got some time this morning to walk through the field and take some photos. What a relaxing place. You know they say a picture is worth a thousand words. I don't know that my photos do justice to these beautiful gifts of nature. I always hope that I come close to capturing the essence of this time. Yesterday we worked on getting a sign pole up at the front entrance of the farm. We had a welder weld a 16 foot sign post that we will eventually hang a 3-d lighted sign from. Another little project I have been working on for a while. The weather here has not been very cooperative. We have had a lot of rain. Today is beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. I hope you enjoy the blue bonnets. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Dogwood at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Dogwood at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

The dogwoods that we have are the Cornus Florida variety. They are trees growing 20 to 30 feet in height. Back home in Louisiana they grew taller than that. There is a fable about the dogwood. It was believed that the cross that Jesus was crucified on was made from the trunk of a dogwood, a very hard wood. The tree was believed to be extremely tall in his day. to ensure an end to the construction of crosses he dwarfed the tree and twisted it's branches. The flower of the dogwood symbolizes the crucifixion with the four petals representing the four points of the cross. The red splashes of color on each tip represents the blood shed. Pretty cool story. But then again it was told to me as a fable. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Lady Banks Rose at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Lady Banks Rose at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Last weekend I took these pictures of the Lady Banks Rose at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. It is just covered with blooms. I'm not sure of the botanical name for this rose. My Mom is a master gardener and has stories for all of her plants around Purple Ranch. You can see her story at www.purpleranch.com in the "About" section.

Indian Paint Brush at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Indian Paint Brush at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

It's another beautiful day at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm. I got out early to catch the dew on all the blooms. The Indian Paint Brush is such a beautiful wild flower. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Calibrachoa at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Calibrachoa at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

The Calibrachoa or trailing petunia is a tender perennial which produces flowers that look like small petunias. These are compact, mounded plants which grow 3-9� tall on mostly trailing stems. Flower colors include shades of violet, blue, pink, red, magenta, yellow, bronze, and white. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Wisteria at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Wisteria at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Yesterday I walked Purple Ranch looking for interesting things to photograph. I didn’t have to walk far. The wisteria is in full bloom and was absolutely gorgeous. My photography just can’t do justice for this beautiful climbing vine. I hope you enjoy. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Bradford Pear at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm

Bradford Pear at Purple Ranch Lavender Farm, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

I love this time of year. Everything is in bloom and it really helps me realize how thankful I am for God's blessings. He is a wonderful creator. The photos you will be seeing in the next few blogs are from a couple of weeks ago. I walked around the farm taking pictures of new growth and any insect that would stay still long enough to let me get a shot. The Bradford pears that line the drive leading to Purple Ranch were just swarming with new life. Bees, birds nests, wasps, lady bugs all their friends came out to play. What a great time I had being a part of the fun. I hope you enjoy this spring as much as I will. Lavender should be blooming soon. I can't wait. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Twin Terrors

Purple Ranch Twin Terrors, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

The newest additions to the Purple Ranch Family are a couple of dogs we call the twin terrors. A brother and sister combo weighing in at 45 and 50 pounds. Part Blue Healer, Australian Shepard, Lab and a 3rd degree in Hulk Hogan gonna put a hurt on ya. Rolo and Hope can be seen practicing herding techniques down the rows of lavender. Don't get in their way. They will run over you and not even notice. Recently Rolo made a visit to the Vet to have some business taken care of. He came home with a fashionable white cone around his neck converting our once lovable puppy into a 50 pound wrecking ball. It was like watching an old pinball machine, Rolo being the ball, hitting every bumper, in this case every tree in the yard. Fun stuff. Until next time. Lavender Up!

What is Purple Ranch Lavender Farm?

The Purple Ranch Hands, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Purple Ranch Lavender Farm is a family owned and operated farm. We are a physical farm with over a thousand plants in the ground. We are a close knit family with great work ethic. I have always enjoyed doing projects with my family. And we have plenty of them. But it is more than that. It is a dream. A dream my Mom is actually living out. A dream to leave a legacy and something for the next generation. My sons Jon and Jake love going to the ranch and playing Star Wars with a couple of homemade light sabers. Or driving the tractor which is Jake's favorite. Jon's would be planting with Mom or finding bugs. This last week we went to Tomball for the German Festival they have there every year. As I stood there and watched multiple people come up to Mom and invite her to this festival or this event I realized for the first time that this thing we call Purple Ranch is more than that. It is what I think about and what I dream about. It has become my dream also. As I try to market this business and create new things whether designing a new product label or adding functionality to the web it all comes down to this. Purple Ranch, the dream, is physically making people happier and healthier. At the festival this weekend the lady next door to our booth bought some Purple Ranch Lavender Foot Therapy. She told us on Saturday that she was so looking forward to using it but forgot it in her booth. She said she couldn't wait to use it. You know if I were to make a product or service. What better than one people are excited about using and can't wait to try. The Festival was one of the most successful events we have had. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Thanks Mom for giving us all a dream. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Purple Ranch Lavender is a hit at the Tomball 8th Annual German Festival

Purple Ranch Lavender Staff, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

Purple Ranch Lavender Farm went to Tomball Texas last weekend for the 8th Annual German Festival. We had a great time. The Red Hatters stopped by to smell the lavender. What a great group of ladies. This trip was one of the most successful ones that we have had. We made so many contacts on this trip and everyone seemed to love the products. It is great to be back home in Dallas. This week we will be focusing on producing product to replace all that we sold. We will be busy at the ranch getting things ready for the Swiss Avenue Tour of Homes event. Until next time. Lavender Up!

Trip to San Antonio

Trip to San Antonio, originally uploaded by Purple Ranch Lavender Farm.

I took a little break from the Purple Ranch to do some time with Jake, Jon and the Hayne's. We had a great time. We took an evening trip to downtown San Antonio to ride the river boat and eat some really good Mexican food. We spent two days at Fiesta Texas which was awesome. I love the Rattler and the Poltergeist. We rode them all. Our evening were spent shooting paintballs at each other. We had a great time. Thank you Cliff and Angela for your hospitality. We love you guys. Until next time. Lavender Up!