A road trip through the Texas Hill Country region in Central Texas provides a unique sight with its many hills and native wildflowers, including the Texas bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, winecups, Texas Star hibiscus, and butterfly weed. As you make your way through this region, you will not only see fields upon fields of vineyards, but if you look closely, you can find some hidden fresh lavender fields.
The blooms create a beautiful and colorful landscape in this semi-arid climate during the spring and early summer. A special route many locals and visitors travel through is Wine Route 290 on the way to Fredericksburg, Texas.
Fredericksburg is a charming small town with German heritage, which is evident in its architectural style and the delicious German cuisine that lines Main Street.
The best gift to take home from a stay at a Cozi vacation rental? Local lavender products, of course! In this guide, we’ll tell you where you can find lavender-inspired goods such as essential oils, soaps, lotions, and recipe books.
So, if you love nature and the unique fragrance of lavender, or you are simply searching for a peaceful place in the Texas Hill Country, we got you covered.
The Lavender Season in Texas
Texas Hill Country’s dry climate and terrain provide some pretty good conditions to grow lavender plants; however, mother nature is prone to occasional severe weather events that affect the lavender fields.
Many of the lavender farms in the area have experimented with a variety of lavender plants to work with mother nature instead of against it. As such, the lavender season typically runs from late April to June, perfect for an early Texas summer vacation!
What Types of Lavender Bloom in Texas?
Different types of lavender plants are grown in Texas, including:
- French lavender
- Spanish lavender
- English lavender
- Lavandula x intermedia
- Lavandula latifolia.
In the Texas Hill Country, the most common variety is English lavender. These have narrow gray-green leaves that produce long stems of fragrant purple flowers. It is perfect for the production of essential oils, soaps, bath bombs, and lotions.
French lavender tends to have a compact growth habit with shorter stems of the lavender flower. This variety is ideal to use as an ingredient for different sweet cuisine dishes and cocktails.
Lastly, there is the Spanish lavender with its broad and gray-green leaves and short stems, perfect for landscaping and growing in your yard to add a little bit of nature’s perfume.
Walking among the beautiful lavender fields is a unique experience that combines all the senses. If you are interested in exploring the lavender fields, here are some of the best in and around Fredericksburg, Texas!
Lavender Fields Around Fredericksburg
Becker Vineyards
- Where: The Estate Winery & Tasting Room, 464 Becker Farms Road, Fredericksburg, TX
- Hours: Daily from Monday to Thursday between 10 am and 5 pm, Friday to Saturday between 10 am and 6 pm, and Sunday from 12 pm to 6 pm.
Founded by Richard and Bunny Becker in 1992, Becker Vineyards is located just outside of Downtown Fredericksburg. It is well-known for its award-winning wines and its lavender field and products.
If you are interested in both wine and lavender, Becker Vineyards will not disappoint! The winery only uses Texas-grown grapes harvested from the Texas Hill Country and Lubbock in north Texas and produces a wide range of wines, including reds, whites, and rosés. We recommend their Barbera red wine as it is exceptional.
The Becker’s Story
The Becker’s inspiration to grow a lavender field came from their travels to the Rhone River Valley of Provence in France, which had a peculiar similarity with the Texas Hill Country climate and terrain, such as the dry summer and limestones.
The Beckers fell in love with the lavender fields and the aroma so much that, along with their daughter Clementine, they proceeded to plant about 1,000 lavender plants on three acres of land in their winery in 1998. They started with the Lavandula x intermedia, also known as Grosso and Provence, as well as the Lavandula Stoechas.
Thanks to mother nature, the Becker lavender fields have gone through trial and error, but today they grow Spanish lavender and have a gift shop on their estate’s tasting room full of many lavender products to purchase.
The Annual Lavender Festival
The winery also has an annual Becker Vineyards lavender festival on its grounds. The festival occurs in the early blooming season (usually in April), and it hosts lavender luncheons, artisan vendors, the art of food and wine pairings, live music, and wine tasting and wine tours.
Complementary Tours
To take full advantage of the lavender fields and the wine at Becker Vineyards, we recommend you attend one of its complimentary tours of the estate winery production, which occurs three times a day.
The tour takes you through some of the facility buildings housing the fermentation tanks, the barrels for wine aging, and the bottling production line (it processes about 55 bottles per minute!).
When the complimentary tour concludes, you can enjoy a wine tasting with a charcuterie board. You can even ask some of the wine stewards to help you pair the cheese choices with the wines you selected to taste. You will also have the option to enjoy the wine tasting in the bespoke tasting room or the pavilion with a view of the lavender fields and vineyards. It is an amazing experience for couples or women on a girls’ trip.
End your day at the vineyards by perusing the lavender products on display in the tasting room.
Hill Country Lavender Farm
- Where: 8241 Farm to Market 165, Blanco, TX 78606(Ensure you add the address to your GPS instead of the location name to avoid being sent to the original location that is now closed). The farm will be on the corner of RR165 and FM 2325 in Blanco County.
- Hours: Thursdays to Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm
Founded by Robb Kendrick and Jeannie Ralston, the Hill Country Lavender Farm is a short and scenic drive from Fredericksburg as it is in Blanco, Texas, also known as the lavender capital of Texas.
The Kendrick Story
Just like the Becker Vineyards, the idea of the lavender farm grew after Kendrick, an award-winning photographer, received an assignment to shoot the lavender harvest in Provence, France, for National Geographic.
They started with two acres of land in 1999, and in 2001, Jeannie opened up the lavender field to the public. Over the years, the amount of lavender plants planted has only grown.
In 2006, Tasha Corradini bought the farm after working on it for years to continue to grow the business. Tasha added a lavender market to provide lavender products for those interested.
Lavender Everything
Visitors are welcome to stop by the farm to take photos, walk among the lavender fields, and even harvest their own lavender when the flowers are in full bloom. When the lavender market is in stock, you will find a variety of products, including soaps, lotion, shower gels, shampoo and conditioners, body butter, mint cream, lavender bubble bath, hand soap, hand sanitizer, bath bombs, and lip balm.
And that’s only the beauty products. They also have products to cook with, including spices, sugar, tea, and even a cookbook full of lavender recipes, including lavender honey, strawberry and lavender sorbet, lavender lemon bars, lavender lemonade, and a series of cocktails.
Blanco Lavender Festival
- Festival Information: June 9-11, 2023
- Festival Market Hours: Friday from 12 pm to 6 pm, Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm, and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.
The annual Blanco Lavender Festival takes place every June with a lavender market on the historic Old Blanco County Courthouse grounds. There is live music and lavender products, and on the Big Tent, they offer a variety of beer and wines from Central Texas. For those interested, they even offer a shuttle service that runs back and forth between the festival and the Hill Country Lavender Farm.
During the festival, the farm offers mini-seminars on how to grow lavender in a yard or container and make lavender simple syrup for cocktails and cooking demonstrations. Visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic to enjoy the view of the lavender fields.
Day Trips to Lavender Fields
Besides the Texas Hill Country, there are other locations throughout Texas where you can make a day trip to visit other lavender farms.
Lacey Farms
Just an hour and a half away from Fredericksburg, you’ll find Lacey Farms in Austin. Provence Lavender is abundant here, and a gift shop is waiting to stock you up on soaps, lip balms, and lotions.
Xanadu Acres Lavender Farm
Two hours north of Fredericksburg, you’ll find this gem in Mullins, TX. Xanadu Acres Lavender Farm is a haven of calm and beauty nestled in the heart of the countryside. The farm offers a range of products, from essential oils to sachets and dried bouquets, all crafted with the finest organic lavender.
Explore the Lavender Fields of Fredericksburg
Whether you’re interested to learn about the variety of lavender plants grown in the Texas Hill Country, strolling through the fields to enjoy the sights and aromas, or pampering yourself with some lavender products, we recommend you include exploring the lavender fields in Fredericksburg, Texas to your trip itinerary.
Many of our vacation rentals in the area will provide you with comfortable and convenient accommodations near the lavender fields, allowing our guests a truly authentic and local experience.
Featured Image Credit: pickpik.com
