B&B Family Farms
Sequim, Washington
OWNERS |
Bruce & Bonnie McCloskey, Kristy & Zion Hilliker |
ACREAGE |
4 acres |
CROPS |
13 varieties of lavender ranging from white to pink to several shades of purple, hydrangea |
FOLLOW |
@bbfamilyfarm |
Our Story
B&B Family Farm started in 2013 when Bruce and Bonnie McCloskey found their own piece of paradise in Sequim, Washington. As one of the original lavender farms on the Olympic Peninsula, and a dairy farm before that, the place had a rich history and authentic charm thanks to the 100 year-old barn located on the property.
After spending some time in the Pacific Northwest living aboard their boat, Bruce and Bonnie ended up falling in love with the area. They returned to the Peninsula permanently a few years later, following their oldest daughter and her family who moved to Port Angeles in 2012. Once they were here, Bruce and Bonnie searched for a way to entice their younger daughter Kristy and her husband Zion to make the move from San Diego so that the family could live in the same place for the very first time. Well, the lavender farm was the ticket! Kristy, Zion and their daughter, Harper, joined Bruce and Bonnie in January of 2014 to embark on this epic adventure.
With no previous knowledge or experience with lavender, the McCloskey family relied on the kindness and generosity of the previous owners to teach them the ropes. With some serious research, hard work and passion, the farm has more than doubled the number of lavender plants and expanded to include a retail farm store, an online shop, and new flowers. Each member of the family brings an area of expertise to the team. Bonnie and Kristy make all of the lavender products by hand on the farm. Zion has taught himself to distill essential oil and has won multiple awards for the various varieties of lavender essential oil that are also distilled on the farm. Bruce is the everything man, from business to tractor repairs.
The farm is open to the public May-September and prides itself on its free farm tours and unique educational experiences. When they’re not giving tours, making products, harvesting and processing lavender, fixing tractors, distilling essential oil, or delivering fresh flowers to the market, you find them splashing in puddles, exploring beaches and mountains or pedaling down the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Growing Practices
B&B Family Farm uses sustainable growing practices. They don’t use chemicals in any part of the planting, growing or processing of the lavender. Cover crops are used to help prepare the soil as well as compost derived from their homes, chickens and the lavender processing. “Having multiple generations on the farm makes it ever more apparent that we have to leave things better than we found them. Our future farmers depend on that.”