Purple Haze Lavender
#6 on Farm Tour Map
Farm Tour Bus Route D
180 Bell Bottom Lane
Sequim, WA 98382
360-683-1714
See the Purple Haze Lavender Web Cam and watch the lavender grow!
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Join us as Purple Haze celebrates its own 10th Anniversary along with the Festival! Come relax on our porch with a Lavender Margarita, U-Pick fresh bundles, enjoy Lavender Ice Cream, wander our 7+ acres of lavender, visit our gift store, and enjoy our wonderful gourmet food, great music and numerous vendors! All of us “Purple Hazers” along with owner, Mike Reichner invite you to come and celebrate! There's always a chair waiting for you at Purple Haze……
A Decade of Lavender Living
Story by Betty Oppenheimer
It’s been 10 years since Mike and Jadyne Reichner planted their first Grosso and Provence lavender starts. Back then, no one was certain that Sequim’s lavender vision would come to fruition, but Mike was one of its most ardent advocates. Known for his unabashed and enthusiastic marketing of lavender, Mike, now sole owner of Purple Haze Lavender, continues to build on successes in the farm’s welcoming atmosphere and beauty, quality reputation, innovative product line and volume distribution channels.
A retired state park ranger, Mike sculpted the original 2.5 acre lot into one of the first agri-tourist farms in Sequim, creating demonstration gardens, an orchard, pond, seating areas, and out buildings, including the drying shed.
“I remember the first summer, selling the first bundles of lavender off our porch,” he said. The farm has gained worldwide recognition since those days. “My motivation is the feedback we receive. People come here and say ‘I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.’ I love hearing that,” he said.
Surprisingly, Mike says that despite his far-flung, often successful marketing efforts (all the way to La Ribera on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, where he spends his winters), “the single most mentioned way people hear about us is word of mouth from friends and family. It’s even bigger than the Internet. It’s critical that we maintain this hands-on approach, as people visit the farm. We always treat everyone like they’re the first person who has ever visited here. They’re each special.”
Of course, in addition to word of mouth, Purple Haze sends out monthly specials by email to thousands of previous visitors to the farm and to the website. This simple effort, said Mike, brings in many, many monthly orders, for products which are on sale, and for other items in inventory. And every month, the e-mail list grows.
Mike hasn’t done anything about Purple Haze in a small way – in business or in farming. In 1999 – the year that lavender was names Herb of the Year by the International Herb Associations - he managed to land Purple Haze products, including their signature lavender salad dressing, into QFC stores, and interested the Herb Growing and Marketing Network to hold its annual conference in Sequim, with a focus on lavender. In 2001, the farm was awarded a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant to study the benefits of oyster shells as reflective mulch for lavender plants and that fall, they opened a retail store at 127 W. Washington Street. There, Purple Haze offers year round sales and shipping of Internet orders all over the world.
Reichner’s “anchors” are general manager Vickie Oen and farm manager Jose Franco. Oen manages the inventory, store and shipping to the several thousand wholesale accounts that Purple Haze serves, while Jose cares for the 40,000 plants on 10 acres of rolling Sequim hillside.
“Jose’s been with me longer than anyone. He’s like a son to me,” said Reichner.
Now, having been hailed in national magazines including Forbes, Seattle Homes and Lifestyles and Adventures, welcomed as an expert on lavender farming across the country, and with a farm recognized by thousands as a destination, Reichner is contending with rampant residential growth around the 10 acre lavender farm.
“I want this to be a farm forever – I will maintain my integrity. This will be a farm forever,” he said. “It’s big, it has flowing contours. I’ve always thought of it as my canvas.”
As far as Reichner is concerned, the business is maturing as it begins its second decade. This year’s new products include shade grown, lavender infused coffee beans, and chocolate bars that continue the farm’s play on Jimi Hendrix’ Purple Haze theme. The Chocolate Experience is a milk chocolate bar, and the Flashback Bar is dark chocolate. Both are infused with organic lavender oil.
His latest venture will be selling gift baskets through Costco.com.
“This new adventure is a very steep growth curve,” he said.