What if you can have a day in the open air, a day of blue sky, sea breeze and the whisper scent of lavender? 

In the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, that day is yours. Ten farms, all within a few miles of one another, offer the Sequim Lavender Experience  all summer, and without a lot of driving. Oh, they’re distilling essential oil, offering fresh-cut bundles of flowers, scooping lavender ice cream and readying for the harvest. But away from the crowds of the July 20-22 Lavender Weekend, the experience is more relaxed for the visitor. 

On the valley's eastern side, Purple Haze Lavender Farm, is one of the special places where you can behold the aura above thousands of lavender plants. Explore the fields, then find a shady spot for a glass of lavender lemonade.

Nearby Jardin du Soleil, is an island of purple ringed by protected land, so the view stretches out toward the horizon. Jardin, like many of the other farms, hosts a series of special events on weekends during the summer season.

Heading south we find the Lavender Connection, where 37 varieties of the herb grow. Once you’ve wandered among the rows, you might visit the “perfumery,” and mix the lavender essence with other fragrances — “invent a scent,” as they say here.  

On Old Olympic Highway, B & B Family Farm is where three generations of one clan nurture their 12 acres and thousands of lavender plants. This is yet another farm where summer brings free tours, which here include the 100-year-old barn and a look at the one-of-a-kind “jitterbud” lavender bud-cleaning machine.  

Victor’s Lavender is just down the road with a former milking barn turned into a lavender haven. Farmer Victor Gonzalez of Sequim is known internationally; his farm has provided more than 1 million lavender plants to gardeners around the world.