About Us

What's in a Name?

1992 was a year in which we were privileged to trek in the Himalayas, learning to put our hands together and raise them with the greeting "namaste" which means (in Australian) g'day, how are you or welcome.

When a change in work and lifestyle brought us to the south west of Western Australia just a few months later, we purchased the farm and named it to remind us of a very special year in our lives. We have spelt it phonetically so that fellow Aussies can pronounce it correctly! So welcome to Namastey.

The Farm

At first the farm was a "view farm" - a place to relax and soak in the magnificent scenery and ambience. Then we added some cattle and, some years later, decided it was the ideal spot to grow lavender.

The first lavender was planted at "Namastey" in 1999. It flowered prolifically in its first year taking us by surprise as we were not ready to deal with it, however we soon became familiar with the old fashioned sickle, harvesting bunches for fresh or dried flowers. A large farm shed provided a dark enclosed area for drying the flowers, which were then either stripped for loose lavender or sold as dried bunches.

After a couple of years we felt the need to mechanise at least part of the harvest and now 80% of our crop is mechanically harvested for oil. This is done with an adapted forage harvester, which cuts off only the flower-heads to produce high grade oil.

The Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters provides the best growing conditions and the lavender continues to thrive and flourish. We now have about 20,000 plants of the genus Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia.

The flowers are taken to a modern steam distillation unit as soon as they are harvested and in less than two hours the precious oil is separated from the hydrosol and ready for bottling and labelling.

We have also planted 50 olive trees and produce our own olive oil.

The Lavender Shed

Overlooking the lavender is our Lavender Shed, housing tearooms and a display area for our products. With the delicate perfume of lavender in the air, it is a calming and relaxing spot to enjoy a Devonshire tea whilst browsing through the many lovely items for sale.

Opening hours are 2.00 - 5.30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and group bookings are welcome any time by appointment.