Lavender Farm a Student Stress Reliever
by Jessica Lynch
Have you ever had time to spare between classes and wondered if there was something fun to do to pass the time? Cape Cod Lavender Farm is just 19 minutes from campus, and it’s a breath of fresh air.
The farm has a large lavender field to stroll around, a shop with lavender themed items, and a stone fairy garden. There are also many walking trails on the conservation land surrounding the farm.
The long, bumpy road to the farm is rather unassuming, but at the end waits a delightful experience. After parking my car, I came up on a small, wood cabin surrounded by variously shaped plant pots. The scene reminded me of a mystical cottage in an enchanted wood you might see in a fantasy film.
I entered the cabin into a shop where I was kindly greeted and shown around. The sweet, earthy scent of lavender enveloped me as I looked at the delightful products lining the walls. From soaps and beauty products to kitchen items and dog bandanas, according to Cynthia Sutphin who owns the Cape Cod Lavender Farm, the shop sells over 20 lavender-based products.
“Some of them are made right on site, some of them are made locally, and there are some that are not local, but American made,” says Sutphin.
“We’re very fond of saying that lavender is the most versatile plant on Earth because it appeals to all of the senses,” Sutphin says. “Sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. It also can be used as a remedy for sleep, insomnia, headaches, or relaxation, as an antiseptic, antibacterial, bee sting, bug bite. There isn’t anything that it doesn’t help!”
Lavender is well known for its stress-relieving and anxiety-reducing tendencies. If the upcoming finals are looming over you, stop by the farm for a sachet of lavender to keep with you.
The Cape Cod Lavender Farm Store. (Jessica Lynch)
The various products for sale in the Lavender store.
Sutphin started the farm 29 years ago with only two products on the shelves.
“I like to garden, and I wanted to plant something that nobody else was growing, and lavender was the plant of choice, and I wanted to stay home with my four children and work from home, so it served a lot of purposes because I live on the property,” says Sutphin.
After checking out the shop, I was encouraged to take a stroll to the part of the property with the lavender fields and stone fairy garden. I walked down a slight hill and came upon the fairy garden first. It fit the enchanted theme of the shop and perpetuated the feeling that I had somehow landed myself in a fairy-tale world. There is a path leading through the fairy garden lined on either side with large, flat rocks and in the middle stands a small tower made from stones, fit for a fairy king or queen. A little ways past the fairy garden are the lavender fields.
According to Sutphin, the lavender will bloom in the last week in June and the first two weeks of July. Although it wasn’t blooming yet, I found the field filled with dusky, purple plants a beautiful sight. The beauty of the grounds is due in part to Sutphin’s husband, the chief grounds keeper. He keeps things “neat and tidy.”
The tower in the Fairy Garden made of stone. (Jessica Lynch)
The lavender field. In mid-summer, it will be a vibrant purple. (Jessica Lynch)
Walking around the lavender fields was a very enjoyable experience. I found it relaxing to take some time out of my hectic schedule to slow down, and, as the old adage goes, stop and smell the roses … well, in this case, lavender.
Sutphin told me that her property is connected to 100 acres of conservation land, so nature enthusiasts can spend a whole afternoon walking around, with the farm as their starting point.
“We welcome visitors of all ages because you can be in touch with nature out here and you don’t have to really look for it,” says Sutphin. “You’re just kind of walking in the presence of beautiful land on Cape Cod. We encourage people to really come by because nowadays everything is so virtual that you can go on a website and visit a place, but we are actually a place you can visit! We love to be open to the public and encourage growth in nature.”
Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, the Cape Cod Lavender Farm is off Weston Woods Road in Harwich. It is on Instagram @capecodlavender and Facebook at Cape Cod Lavender Farm and has an online shop at www.capecodlavenderfarm.com/shop.
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