My house smells of lavender right now and I’m savoring the aroma.

Yesterday, my oldest and dearest friend and I set off on an adventure at Sunset Ridge Lavender Farm near Yellow Springs, Ohio. For $10 you can cut a bouquet of lavender to take home and they have several varieties for your consideration.

Each variety has unique qualities like Folgate that has flowers of an almost iridescent periwinkle blue. Purple Bouquet has long dark stems that make it ideal for craft projects. Each variety has different qualities for cooking.

I have always enjoyed lavender but never found myself in a situation like this one where I could experience the differences in varieties. At a glimpse, it all just looks like lavender but it’s clearly different on closer inspection.

The leaves and the flowers on each plant have an array of textures and the aromas are drastically different. Your nose will recognize when you have moved from one variety to another.

I came home with a bouquet that includes some of everything. Like the bees that flitted from one plant to the next, one row to another, I moved about clipping a few stems from there and a few from here,. I did this until my fist was full and I was confident that I had enough white lavender stems mixed in with all the rich purples.

There was a shockingly large crowd just twenty minutes after opening and, as people left, more continued to flow in. Many were there just to collect their bouquets and to take a selfie or two. Others came with little kids dressed for portraits. Some brought spouses who stood in this small sea of lavender looking lost and making me grateful to be there with a friend who shared my enthusiasm.

It was a good day.

Plus, they have a pretty purple barn, some welcoming chairs in the shade and some baked goods for sale.

My car now smells strongly of lavender and I’m confident that I should always keep lavender in the vehicle from here on. We were both inspired to pick up some lavender seeds yesterday so we can have our own patches at home.

This isn’t an enormous lavender patch but we were quite happy with the experience. You can find Sunset Ridge on Facebook to learn more about location, hours and their season.