Planted With Purpose
East Road Farm is a 24 acre family-owned and operated lavender farm and apiary located on the Bruce Peninsula. Continue reading to learn more about our farm, our history, our passion, and how we got started on this incredible journey.
Our Story
We are a small, family farm in Dyer’s Bay on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula. We purchased the property and farmhouse in 2019 after viewing it and immediately falling in love with its coziness, charm and potential. This began the East Road Farm adventure. Since then, we’ve been slowly restoring the farmhouse to its original glory and cleaning up the land.
The Farmhouse
One of the main parts of our adventure so far has been restoring the farmhouse— a beauty who is over a century old. Built in 1905, it is full of history, character and charm. It was once a thriving Bed & Breakfast for many years as well!
Locals on the peninsula will remember the farmhouse as The Dew Drop Inn. In May 1939, Esma Rouse opened up her home for “strays in need of a hot meal and a warm bed”. Esma and her husband Angus were hosts at the Inn for over 3 decades. Years later, it was once again renewed as a Bed & Breakfast by Sally Hawkes and her husband, and it was called Camaranche. We purchased the farm from Sally in 2019 and hope to one day be able to allow guests to stay there once again in one way or another. But for now, it remains a work in progress and a labour of love for us.
The Property and Lavender
When we purchased the property in 2019, the fields had not been worked in over 50 years. We started thinking about what crops we’d like to grow to complement our apiary and hay, and lavender seemed like the perfect fit. After months of research, picking stones and test planting, we planted 2,000 lavender plants by hand. We currently have about 1.5 acres of lavender planted on our farm.
In July 2022, we distilled two varieties of lavender, English and French. We now have our own hydrosol (or lavender "floral water") and pure essential oil.
Today
We love spending time on our 24 acres in Dyer's Bay. For us, it is a peaceful haven with lavender, hayfields, a small barn, split rail fences, old gardens, apple orchards and a century-old farmhouse.
Our fields are home to hay, garlic and many varieties of lavender, while our orchards flourish with apples, and our apiary continues to produce rich honey. Fun fact: our son began beekeeping seven years ago and has been hooked ever since, often spending his spare time as our #1 farm hand. We couldn't have imagined his hobby would one day inspire the farm to turn into what it is today— our East Road Farm. The farmhouse continues to be a work in progress and we are excited to share it in the near future.
Associations & Memberships
We are proud to be a member of the following associations. |
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