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Recent Entries to this Blog
Wooden carving of eagle holding fish
Posted: 29 Oct 2008 Posted: 17 Oct 2008 Posted: 30 Jun 2008 Posted: 23 Jun 2008 Posted: 23 Jun 2008 All Entries |
Purple Ranch Hand's BlogThe life and times on a lavender farm in Texas.
Purple Bearded Iris
Category: Lavender | Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:38 pm 
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 This blog entry has been viewed 372 times
Where is Sid when you need him?
Category: Lavender | Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:49 pm 
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! This blog entry has been viewed 319 times
Mockingbird came to visit
Category: Farm Animals | Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:44 pm 
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 the military to protect their nest. Today I got this shot and came out unscathed. How fortunate for me. Until next time. Lavender Up! Last edited: Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:25 pm This blog entry has been viewed 327 times
More Blue Bonnets
Category: Lavender | Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:35 pm 
The blue bonnets are really coming out here at Purple Ranch. 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! This blog entry has been viewed 337 times
Purple Ranch Hands
Category: Lavender | Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:26 pm 
Above is the beginning of the field you saw in my photos yesterday. That was last year when we planted. The bottom picture is of my sister, Brenda, actually harvesting the lavender. To give you a little bit more info about my Purple Ranch Hand name. Our last name is "Hand". Until next time. Lavender Up! This blog entry has been viewed 390 times
"The Dream"
Category: Lavender | Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:02 pm Below is my Mom's story. Some of you ask where I got my name "Purple Ranch Hand". I am literally a Ranch/farm hand at Purple Ranch. My profession is advertising/marketing. Outside of making a living doing that I really love to drive tractors, mow, build and grow things. My Mom has taught me so much about plants. Even my sons have flower pots with their favorite plants. Below is my Mom, my gardening mentor. 
MY DREAMS Hi. I'm June Hand. My dreams have always been larger than life. For many years I have dreamed of owning and running my own business. I loved all the aspects of selling and I believed I could make a success of every dream I conceived. Over the years, there was jewelry to be acquired and sold, aqua bonnets for fitness centers and spas, and gemstones to be found, polished and reformed into works of art to be sold. My interests were varied and widespread and I was never deterred in my pursuit of that one dream that would begin as a seed of an idea and literally blossom into a flourishing endeavor. THE BEGINNING My interest in plants and flowers began in my early childhood. My Aunt Kate would take me (in my mind) on the adventure of a lifetime. We would step off her back porch in Louisiana and into another world: a jungle of living, breathing, greenery that became my summer escape; and so my passion began. A gentle breeze would stir the humid, steamy air as we would stroll from plant to plant. She taught me the names and care of each individual plant and I felt as if these were the children she never had that required her attention and care. I would become lost in the magical world of blossoms and blooms. As the years streamed by in a kaleidoscope of colors, I finally realized my dream of growing lavender. Now I share my dream with you. PURPLE RANCH WAS BORN Purple Ranch became my dream in living color in 2003 when I purchased two hundred plants to cultivate on our eight acres in Royse City, Texas. We were told by the supposed "experts" that lavender would not grow in the black gumbo mud in this area of the state. How wrong they were. We planted in the summer of 2003 and it was a trial and error process, but Purple Ranch was finally born. FIRST PLANTING During our first planting, we amended the soil by building up the earth out of dirt and sand then topped it with river rock. This became problematic because when the rains came, and yes it does rain in Texas, the soil would wash away. We lost 75% of our crop that year. I was discouraged, but not defeated. That fall we ordered another batch of plants and proceeded with the planting in November 2003, with a different amended soil. Over the next two years we watched as the baby lavender grew into large beautiful plants. FIRST HARVEST By the third year, 2007, our plants were ready for harvesting. I will never forget the first time I stepped into the middle of the rows of light purple flowers. The scent wafted all around and the steady buzz of the bees and fluttering of the many butterflies was an unforgettable experience. On Mother's Day weekend, 2007, we purchased 500 plants and the whole family converged on the farm to plant. It was some of the hardest, most back-breaking work but together, with lots of laughter, Powerade, sunscreen and in spite of the blazing Texas sun, we got it done. Perfect rows of lavender plants lined up like soldiers in formation. The first plants were harvested with minimum equipment; a pair of sturdy gloves and scissors were our only tools. We cut and cut and then cut some more. The rows seemed to get longer the more we cut. It was amazing how you could spend an hour cutting blooms from one lavender bush and step back and not be able to tell that you had cut anything. During our first harvest summer, we went to the Lavender Festival in Blanco, Texas where we met other lavender farmers. Each one had a passion for the little purple flower with the soothing scent. One farm in particular captured our hearts: Hummingbird Farms. From the "whiskey still" distiller, to Jack and Debi, our hosts, and Ricky, our foreman in sickle cutting, it was an amazing journey into how special lavender really is. Of course, this only made me more determined to have a flourishing lavender farm. My passion was reignited all over again. We came away from Hummingbird Farm with a new skill – harvesting with a sickle. SETBACKS Mother's Day weekend 2007 would be the last dry day for 32 days straight. Anyone that has ever worked with lavender knows that these plants do not like a lot of water. That summer we lost 90% of our original 200 plants due to the wet conditions. Only another farmer can understand the feeling of devastation when you lose the majority of your crop. Preparing the soil, digging the holes, putting in the soaker hoses for watering, weeding, keeping the ants from building nests in the plants, and the myriad of other activities required to produce a good crop can all literally go "down the drain" in one wet season. MOVING FORWARD Our 500 new plants are thriving and some are large enough to bloom. In October 2007, we participated in our first festival: Royse City Fall Festival. This was such a positive experience for us and just the beginning of many festivals and crafts shows to come. Purple Ranch has been a family labor of love. I am sincerely blessed to have my family to share my dream with me. Occasionally I am asked "was Purple Ranch worth the intense labor and time and would you do it again," I have always said "absolutely!". This just goes to prove that dreams really can come true! I hope you enjoy her story as much as I enjoy watching her doing what she loves. By the way, she is over 70 years old. Goes to show you it is never too late to pursue your dreams. Until next time. Lavender Up! Last edited: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:13 pm This blog entry has been viewed 442 times
Even the weeds are beautiful
Category: Lavender | Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:15 pm 
Last weekend I walked around Purple Ranch looking for interesting shots. I found myself shooting as many what we call weeds as I was things we intended to grow. We call this a thistle. Does anyone know it's true name? Until next time. Lavender Up! This blog entry has been viewed 339 times
Lady Banks Rose
Category: Lavender | Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:02 pm 
Last weekend I took these pictures of the Lady Banks Rose. 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. I'm trying to encourage her to get signed up with Garden Stew. She has an incredible story. This blog entry has been viewed 647 times
Purple Ranch Twin Terrors
Category: Farm Animals | Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:44 pm 
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! This blog entry has been viewed 1036 times
Rosemary at Purple Ranch is in bloom
Category: Rosemary | Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 3:57 pm I love the smell of rosemary and I love to grill. They go hand in hand. This year the rosemary is blooming and it smells so good. Hope you enjoy.  [/img]
This blog entry has been viewed 363 times
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