Can a fragrant flower revitalize a community?
Barely six years after the Sequim Chamber of Commerce first met to discuss the idea of instituting a floral industry, the Sequim-Dungeness Valley in northwest Washington is blanketed with fields of blooming lavender so in this case the answer is yes. Each summer, thousands of people flock to the area to enjoy this ancient herb and to spend time out on the growing farms, where they will cut fresh bundles of the fragrant herb, learn how to grow it, and purchase lavender-based products ranging from lip balm to potpourris to salad dressing. Sequim (pronounced Squim ) was settled in the early 1850s by pioneers who logged, fished, and raised dairy cattle. Over the last three decades, the town has become a haven for retirees enjoying its rural beauty and temperate climate. The Sequim prairie the flat, fertile delta of the Dungeness River, nestled between Washington state s Olympic Mountains to the south and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north is located in the rainshadow (so-called becaus
