It was under water for a few days during last year’s flood and lavender, despite being a hardy plant, does not like soil with stagnant water. So it can’t be said that it hasn’t suffered, but being also a resilient plant, this year it has raised its head again, coloring itself more than before. A shot of pride that is worth going to see in San Tomè, on the Scozzoli farm in Forlì. And enthusiasts didn’t have to be told twice, so much so that there is already a lot of people coming and going for a walk alone, in company, or with their dogs.
“We had to remove a few rows of lavender – explains Raffaella who, together with her father Giovanni and her brothers, manages the beekeeping company – And then we had to do a little deeper pruning than other times. But the beautiful thing is that the lavender has not lost any quality: it already has splendid colors. They change throughout the day and depending on the weather. The lavender field can be photographed 30 times and there will be 30 photos with different colors the substance, soon we will begin to harvest the honey and the oil”.
The land is one hectare and was entirely cultivated with lavender seven years ago. “We were among the first to do this type of cultivation, and therefore we made mistakes, such as not applying mulch and making too narrow rows of seedlings. But these mistakes, in the end, proved to be our strength. In no other field you see a blue sea like ours. It’s unique.” The Scozzoli company is not closed, it has no fences, and anyone can access it. Furthermore, for a few years special events have been organized in the lavender field.
“There are those who teach yoga, those who do gymnastics, those who cook. The Loto association also organizes a solidarity picnic to raise awareness about female cancers – explains Raffaella – We make available our field which we keep with some shaved areas to make sit people down, then we offer hives as tables and those who come must bring a towel to sit on. Then the rest comes naturally: it’s the magic of nature. People’s eyes are filled with beauty and serenity.” The company supports itself with beekeeping even though it is a very difficult sector.
“We are nomads and everything we do is based on the bees – continues Raffaella – We produce all the purely local honeys: acacia (which, unfortunately, will not be available again this year because when the plants were in flower the temperature was too low ), the lime tree. We are extracting coriander honey and soon we will take the bees to the chestnut groves, to the sunflowers in the Senigallia area, and then to the medics to make wildflowers. As mentioned, we are nomads: in the evening we close the boxes with the bees, we travel night, and before sunrise we unload and open the boxes. The bees do their work and then we go home.” As for the events, they start on Monday evening with the bath to the sounds of the gongs, then there is yoga on Wednesday and Thursday evening of fun with paella. Saturday educational evening for families and children where we will talk about bees with a theatrical performance. All appointments are on social media.
