Lavander farming
The colour of farming at Cheristow, near Hartland, used to be of the milking cattle and the sheep tended by Eric Heard and his father before him.
Eric still farms cattle, but now the most vivid colour is lavender, the theme of the farm which attracts admirers in their thousands.
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BLOOMING: One of the bees enjoying the last of the lavender at Cheristow.
The buildings are painted the distinctive colour to mimic the plants in their full bloom.
The change has come with the demands of modern agriculture and Eric's enjoyment of the lavender plant.
He said: "I first came up with the idea when we were on the Isle of Wight and we saw the lavender farm there.
"We were looking to diversify because farming wasn't as good as it should have been and we've always grown plants."
His wife, Michelle, said: "We looked at what we have here where we've got well drained , strong soil, south facing, and then we looked at our skills."
And so Cheristow Lavender was born. The farm has gradually developed under the care of Eric, Michelle, and Eric's mum, Ethel, better known as Nanny Heard.
"I think some of the colours are stunning and it's a nice smell," said Eric.
"Lavender was fashionable years ago and I think it's coming back up."
He believes the new trend for lavender is because it is a natural ingredient for cooking and healing.
It flavours the cakes, savouries, jams and chutneys made by Michelle for the tea room and shop, and in a range of toiletries.
"The taste is different to the smell. You can't use too much of it in cooking. You have to be careful," said Eric.
Michelle said that it had taken several years to develop all the strands of their farm and they had added several kinds of plants, specialising in lupins and varieties of geraniums as well as the lavender.
They keep a fine rose garden and are adding beds around the farm of eye-catching natural wild flowers and grasses.
The lavender harvest is now virtually complete, with pruning under way.
The cut plants are dried to make bunches for weddings and to keep for cooking.
Eric described the philosophy of their enterprise.
He said: "I try to be as sustainable as I can, and I keep a lot of bees, so I grow crops for them and we have wildflower meadows.
"In the autumn or August we give the lavender a good prune, sometimes spray a liquid feed in the spring. That's it, we let it grow."
The main crop is Augusta Folia lavender with a secondary called Intermedia.
Meanwhile the local bees have been having a great time among the plants, said Michelle as a hot August sun blazed down during one of the rare spells of good weather.
"The bees are loving it. They're just amazing.
They were struggling a month or so ago, but the last few weeks have seen all the pollinating insects out having a wonderful time."
Meanwhile Cheristow's six acre crop of a new plant, Sainfoin, is coming into bloom.
"It's for pollinating bees and to ensure sustainability of the farm," said Michelle.
Sainfoin is a foreign legume with a pinky colour which, once all the pollination is over, the farm will harvest as a winter feed along with silage.
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Source: thisisdevon