Strawberry fields might last forever, but lavender is having a moment.

Just look inside a downtown Colorado Springs shop, where lavender candles are sold out and lavender body oil is somehow still in stock. Look at the next-door Bird Tree Cafe, where lavender-flavored lattes are a hot item. Look at National Lavender Day on Sunday.

Look at the lavender-shaded forecast for 2023’s “color of the year,” according to the color experts at Coloro.

And look all around Colorado, where multiple festivals are dedicated to the lovely, light-purple plant and its many purposes. The 11th annual Colorado Lavender Festival was recently held in Palisade, and the fifth annual Lavender Farm Festival in Elizabeth is Saturday.

And then there’s the upcoming Lavender Festival, a two-day celebration at the Chatfield Farms location of Denver Botanic Gardens.

The festival launched in 2016, only one year after the farm planted lavender for the first time. The fest has grown to attract up to 15,000 people, many of whom can be taking plenty of selfies and sniffs among the flowery rows.

Those who like what they see and smell can thank Shealyn Elstein, a horticulturist who joined Chatfield Farms a year ago and took on the leading role when it comes to the farm’s lavender collection. That includes about 2,000 plants.

It was an attractive gig for Elstein. Why?

“Everybody loves lavender,” Elstein said. “It’s just popular right now.”

Tending to lavender, and so much of it, was new for her. But she knows that love for lavender is anything but new.

“Lavender has historically been known as very versatile,” she said. “It’s one of those plants that has a lot of life.”

It’s well loved and studied in Colorado, as evidenced by efforts from the Lavender Association of Colorado. The nonprofit was founded in 2009 to “promote lavender as an alternative cash crop in western Colorado through education, research, networking and market development,” according to its website.

“It soon became apparent that the whole world is as excited about Colorado-grown lavender as we are.”

A fact sheet published in part by the nonprofit states that lavender “has been one of the most popular herbs for centuries.”

Since its origins in the Mediterranean region of Europe, lavender has been “prized for its fragrance, medicinal properties and beautiful color,” the fact sheet continued.

Lavender grows best in full sun and slightly alkaline soils, making it a prize plant for Colorado’s climate.

It’s more than just a pretty face. But it’s easy to fall in love with lavender at first sight.

Thankfully, the festival, which usually sells out, offers plenty of ways to take in the plant via lavender-flavored beer and food and other products.

And you have more than two days to get your looks. The lavender fields at Chatfield will likely be showing off through early September, Elstein said.

“Once that lavender is in bloom, the garden comes alive,” she said. “It’s light and happy and all we want from a summer day.”