Sequim farm expands its operations to Ohio

Published 1:30 am Monday, July 13, 2026

SEQUIM — Lavender guru Victor Gonzalez is bringing his varieties to the Midwest on a permanent basis.

He’s been planning for two years to create a distribution center in Ohio for Victor’s Lavender Farm as a large amount of his plants and business go to the East Coast.

“I want to better serve my customers in that part of the country,” he said.

Gonzalez, who has lived in Sequim since 1995 and has grown to become one of the area’s and nation’s leading lavender experts, said about 70 percent of his business comes from the East Coast. The remainder is on the West Coast, with a small portion in Sequim.

“I have loyal customers here,” he said.

Most of the major farms in the area have lavender from his farm, and Sequim uses his plants throughout city streets.

He’s grown his expertise to specialize in cultivating lavender plants, between 25-50 varieties, and he propagates about 250,000 plants at his Sequim farm each year.

“I’m blessed to say I have customers in every state,” Gonzalez said.

On June 24, he left for Ohio in a truck filled with 20,000 lavender plants in three sizes: 2 inches, 3 1/2 inches and 1 gallon.

“My customers (on the East Coast) are happy I can bring (lavender) to them,” Gonzalez said.

With a closer location, shipping and travel is less expensive, and there’s less chance for damaged plants, he said.

Half of the plants he’s bringing from Sequim are for customers who live in Michigan, New Jersey and other spots on the East Coast, while the other half will be for propagation.

His new distribution center is part of White Barn and Blooms Lavender Farm in Hamilton, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, where he partnered with the farm to grow thousands of lavender plants on 50 acres for agritourism, similarly to Sequim.

It held a grand opening with a lavender festival of its own this past weekend. Read more about it at whitebarnandblooms.com.

Gonzalez said he’ll spend about three weeks there to consult the farm, considered Ohio’s largest lavender farm, and other customers on what are their region’s best varieties based on climate and soil.

“Sequim is the best place to grow lavender in the nation because of its microclimate, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow it somewhere else though,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity to show people what they can grow in their areas and be successful.”

He’ll fly back for Sequim Lavender Weekend July 17-19, when his farm will host its own festival with barn dances, U-cut lavender, demonstrations and more.

His festival includes free admission and parking with food for sale from Bella Italia of Port Angeles, a farm store, workshops and demonstrations, including Gonzalez speaking at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

His music program will feature Jean Lenke from 2 p.m. 5 p.m. on Friday, with the first Barn Dance featuring Mars Garden from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sarah Shea will sing from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, followed by the second Barn Dance with Sound Advice Band from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Gonzalez said he offers the festival because it’s a “good chance to meet up with customers and have one-on-one and answer their questions.”

“They appreciate it,” he said.

Gonzalez said he’s been around since the inception of the Sequim Lavender Festival, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. Gonzalez, who grew up in a farming family, moved to Sequim in 1995 from California.

“I grew up on a farm and love farming regardless of what it is,” he said.

He first worked at Cedarbrook Lavender & Herb Farm and then Sequim Valley Lavender, where he explored lavender through trial and error and studying through Washington State University.

“I fell in love with this plant,” he said.

In 2004, Gonzalez and his wife Maribel fixed up a barn and house to become Victor’s Lavender at 3743 Old Olympic Highway in Sequim.

He said he’s worked hard to perfect his methodology and knowledge. But if you ask him his favorite variety, just know he’s narrowed it down to six: Grosso, Royal Velvet, Folgate, Melissa, Betty’s Blue and Gros Bleu.

For more information about Victor’s Lavender, call 360-681-7930 or visit victorslavender.com.

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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.