• Community Profile: Chateau Couveau

I always love being able to share a hidden treasure with the rest of Wildomar. If you use Palomar you may have seen this sign before. 

Very inviting sign as seen from Palomar.

Wondering what was beyond the sign I stopped and chatted with owner Cynthia Couveau. I asked her about the idea of having a field full of lavender.

"The idea is that it brings peace, it's beautiful, it smells wonderful, and you can do lots of things with it too; essential oils, hydrosols. You can pick it and use it in your homes for culinary, and baking goods, dry it, and use it in sachets, in baths, or in drawers. There are a lot of things."

A good price and a fun activity rolled into one.

The idea came during the Covid lockdowns. The first plantings were done about two years ago, at the end of Spring 2021. They're in the middle of their second bloom which is generally between June and July.

This sign is visible even when lavender picking season is over.

I was trying to guestimate the size of the field and if this had been The Price Is Right I would have lost by overbidding by quite a bit. I had guessed between two and three acres, and all that beauty is confined to a little over half an acre. 

This is a bee haven. The sound of buzzing is everywhere, but they are too busy to bother with you, at least they were too busy to bother with me and I got right up in their space trying to get a picture of them in action for this blog.

They have about 840 plants. They started with about 900 plants, but as Cynthia was pointing out, there's always a little bit of loss in planting. Everything is natural, they don't use pesticides or erbacides.

They hand hoed, hand mowed and hand-cut... except they do have some additional help, but you have to go to the bottom of the blog to see what it is. 😊

Below is a super-short video of a bee doing its pollinating dance among the stalks of lavender.

It's the perfect hobby compared to the rigors of a traditional business. She puts her sign out around her schedule. It can be from around 10am to 5pm, other times from 2pm to 5pm. On her Instagram page, she'll let people know what the hours are that day. 

A look at Cynthia's vendor cart. 

It's located on Palomar, on the dirt portion of Wesely. Pull to the side of Wesely and use the bell that's near their gate if you don't see her out and about. 

Less than 100 yards from the road is a delightful sight of row after row of lavender in bloom. This view is from the bottom of their slope looking towards the west.

Such a great view.

I asked about picking and she let me know that it's $12 to pick a bundle. That goes for either variety, but I don't know if you can mix the bundles as you're picking them. 

She also sells pre-picked dry bundles for $12. 

In the future, they're looking to propagate some of the lavender and offer plants for sale... but that's not this year.

From this angle too.

Cynthia and her husband Josh have been in the community for twenty-six years. 

It's always nice to meet fellow Wildomartinis, (Wildomartians or Wildotuckians works too). Friendly people, we'd all love to have as neighbors, that are the backbone of Wildomar.

The resident weed eaters, two Olde English Southdown Babydoll sheep. 

Be sure to look them up on Instagram. Use this link. 

•                •                •

The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress, is the easiest type of existence.

– Norman Vincent Peale

Wildomar Rap would add lavender and NOT reading comments on social media to the list if you're pursuing inner peace. 

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