Ontario Bucket List: Terre Bleu Lavender Farm (Ontario’s Biggest Lavender Farm)

I first saw Terre Bleu Lavender Farm in a photo on Instagram showcasing its famous yellow door in the midst of vibrant purple lavender fields. When I moved back to Toronto in June, I knew that I needed to take a visit to the lavender fields this Summer. There are other lavender farms in the Toronto area, but Terre Bleu is the largest lavender farm in Ontario. As well, they have many different types of lavender, which means that it’s more likely that something will be in bloom during your visit.

Terre Bleu is located in Milton, which is roughly 60 kilometers outside of Toronto. Traffic around Toronto is hectic these days, so there’s no guarantee how long it will take you to get there. I bought our tickets online, which is cheaper than buying them when you get to the farm. Tickets bought online during the high season (Summer months) will run you $10.50. The tickets are date and time-specific (they make you choose between a morning or afternoon visit).

We chose to visit in the morning so we could get there when it opens and beat the crowds. The farm is extremely well organized, and we were efficiently guided to an empty parking spot located on a plot of grass on the property. After scanning our tickets, we were guided into a tent to watch a quick movie about the history of the farm. The owners of the farm previously lived in downtown Toronto and were inspired to take on a different lifestyle after visiting a lavender farm in Quebec. One of the staff members also broke down the rules of the farm; one of the main rules is that stepping directly over plants is prohibited. Professional photography is also prohibited during regular farm hours. There are so many picturesque spots on the farm, and the experience would be greatly dampered if photographers were hogging them for your entire visit. If you’re interested in taking professional photos at the farm (e.g. for engagement photos), you can get a permit to come back after hours.

The farm has guided tours each hour, and luckily for us, we arrived just in time join. The guide told us about the different types of lavender they have on the farm. The French lavender is more aromatic and is used in scented products. The English lavender has a better flavour and is used in food products. The English lavender had just been harvested, so I only had the opportunity to see the French lavender in bloom.

Next, we headed to the essential oil distillery where we saw where the lavender oils are produced for Terre Bleu’s products. It takes 130lbs of lavender to make one litre of lavender oil (which then sells for $3000)! Terre Bleu sells their essential oils at their on-site store in 5ml bottles for $20 each.

Terre Bleu also has a bee colony, which produces the honey they sell at their store. They have a bee tunnel, which allows you to get up close and personal to their hives without the risk of getting stung. There’s also a bar in the herb garden that serves up herbal mocktails, but it’s unfortunately only open on the weekends.

I was eager to see if Terre Bleu’s Instagram famous yellow door lived up to the hype. We had to walk through a short trail to reach the field that housed the yellow door. This is probably a good thing because it dispersed the crowd. We still had to wait for about 5 minutes until it was our turn to take pictures with the yellow door. Although, when we were leaving, the crowd looked like it would’ve taken between 15-20 minutes to get through. The line is actually very orderly, as everyone has to stand in a straight line between the rows of lavender.

Before we headed out for the day, we checked out their store which had all different sorts of lavender products, including chocolate, macarons, and body wash. My favourite part of my visit was enjoying their lavender ice cream. They have a great system going where you pre-pay for your ice cream in the shop and then pick it up at the outside window. This means that you don’t have to stand around while your cone is dripping to pay the bill.

I’d highly recommend taking a visit to Terre Bleu if you’re interested in visiting a lavender farm in Ontario. The whole experience was very organized and the staff were delightful and always ready to give you directions or recommendations.

If you’re looking for other activities to do while you’re in Toronto, check out my post about going on a Toronto walking tour with Heritage Toronto.