It’s referred to as nature’s firework because of its bursting colors of purple, blue, and pink varieties. It’s lavender. And it’s at the center of many labyrinths and farms all over rural Michigan. As part of a growing agritourism trend, lavender farms are flourishing more than ever.
Dr. Wynne Wright is a recently retired professor at Michigan State University and leads an MSU Extension program related to lavender. The program,
Growing Lavender, helps prospective farmers learn how to grow lavender, select varieties, manage the crop and develop a lavender farm business plan.
The self-guided, online program was begun several years ago to provide more science-based learning among lavender growers and developed in partnership with Kansas State University. Dr. Wright led the team effort for the program but did not write the curriculum. A team of scientists and farmers from across the country wrote the curriculum, which includes seven hour-long modules. The other include harvesting and caring for harvest lavender and marketing "your lavender and your farm."
More than 3,000 people from all over the world have taken the course, she says, adding course graduates receive a certificate of completion. "That certificate is important for some to show others -- 'I'm not a fly-by-night grower. I'm taken this seriously,'" she says.
Dr. Wright also started the
Great Lakes Lavender Growers Association, bringing together lavender growers, commercial farmers and hobbyists across Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
She’s been growing lavender for the past 10 years and says Michigan’s conditions provide suitable conditions for the crop.
“Lavender is a crop that originated in the Mediterranean, and likes dry, sandy, well-draining soil,” she says. “It doesn’t need a lot of water, and it likes what a lot of crops would consider poor quality soil. We have a lot of sand in Michigan, and we don’t get a whole lot of rain. It doesn’t require a great deal of work in that it’s a fairly sustainable crop. We also benefit from the snowfall because the snowfall helps to keep the soil warm in the winter.”
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Lisa BairdLavender Hill Farm in Boyne City. (File photo)Since starting the Great Lakes Lavender Growers Association a decade ago, the organization has grown from about 15 members to nearly 200 today. Dr. Wright has seen a growth in the popularity of lavender farming over the past decade, and attributes it to a couple different things.
“There’s kind of been an explosion in Michigan, and we are now considered one of the more robust states for lavender production in the United States,” she says. “The state has about 100 farms, compared to when I started about 12 or 13 years ago, there were about five farms. That’s a huge growth.”
The rise of agritourism is at the heart of the increasing trend, allowing farmers to invite the general public to their farms, and selling their lavender-infused products and byproducts. Events like yoga in the lavender, lavender painting classes, u-pick days, pop-up picnics in the fields, and more specialized programming increases visitors to the lavender farms throughout the warm months. It’s especially prevalent around the lakes, where nearby communities already rely heavily on tourism as an economic driver.
Dr. Wright also attributes the growth in lavender to the rise of women in agriculture.
“Typically, you will see women at the helm of a lavender farm, and that wouldn’t be the case in an apple farm, strawberry farm, corn, or soybean operation,” she says. “Women are drawn to lavender and cut-flower farms and are leading the way.”
Lavender farming is labor-intensive work, and there’s not much technology that can replace planting and harvesting by-hand. Bending over, cutting, and maintaining the crop is very hard on the body. Dr. Wright is seeing many younger couples in their twenties and thirties moving into the field, as the early adopter farmers look to retire.
The lavender season is a mere four or five weeks each year, so many farmers are looking to diversify their farms. Many have added fruit, vegetables, and cut flowers to increase sustainability in their production.
“Once the lavender starts blooming, it’s over in the blink of an eye,” says Dr. Wright. “You’ve got four or five weeks to make your money for the year, and that’s a lot of stress and very difficult to do. People are always looking for ways to extend their season, so having cut flowers, strawberries, or cherries on your farm is becoming more prevalent.”
Barbara Bull is the owner of
Cherry Point Farm and Market in Shelby, only a mile away from Lake Michigan. It’s one of the oldest operating farms in Oceana County, with the Bull family at the helm since 1949.
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Brian WellsBarbara Bull, owner of Cherry Point Farm & Market, works along a strip of lavender plants on her farm.
Bull grew up on the family farm and has raised fruit with her family her whole life. The fruit farm dates back to 1869, pre-dating her father purchasing the farm in 1949. Bull says the farm was a commercial cherry and apple farm, with acres of peaches, pears, plums and other things, but she looked to add a purple plant to the mix.
“I started to transition to something that would be more direct-marketing oriented, and would allow people to come to this space, to allow it to be more than just a corner to pick up a quart of cherries,” she says. “The process of planting lavender was just a natural unfoldment and exploration of ideas.”
Bull says she didn’t set out to be a lavender farm, but she wanted another way to welcome folks to experience the historic farm and connect to themselves and the land. Today, the farm includes a lavender labyrinth, with purple perfumed stems waving in the wind.
“The lavender told us it belonged here, it was just a natural unfoldment,” Bull says. “The labyrinth is a 300-foot-square, with a 150-foot diameter stone circle that becomes the center of the labyrinth. The paths of the labyrinth are delineated by the earth mounds and lavender plants.”
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Brian WellsArbors and various plants surround the lavender labyrinth at Cherry Point Farm & Market in Shelby.
Archeologists believe labyrinths to be spiritual tools, and provide a contemplative, meditative walk. Bull says visitors are amazed at the labyrinth, and frequently leave the farm feeling inspired. For this generation farmer, Bull says being surrounded by lavender is invigorating, almost intoxicating.
“My favorite part is being out in the field in the morning or at dusk, when the lavender is in bloom,” she says. “There’s a slight dew, the air is heavy, and it holds the fragrance to the ground. It’s absolutely heady.”
Cherry Point Market and Farm also sells fresh bundles of lavender, uses it for potpourri, crafts, in relaxing bath and body products, and even in spice blends. They also make lavender lemonade, shortbread cookies, and a lavender cherry dessert. Other farm events include fish boil dinners held multiple times a week.
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Brian WellsLooking ahead, Bull hopes to enhance the history of the farm, welcome artists, and host retreats. She encourages folks to come experience the farm, and to connect with the land.
“I think it’s about connection, and we provide a place to do that,” she says. “We don’t charge for visiting the labyrinth or the herb garden. This is about feeling the earth and connecting to the land. There’s a disconnection of where our food comes from, and what it’s like to feel grass under your feet. There are so many wonderful sights of nature, and this is another one.”
Indigo Lavender Farms, in Imlay City, has more than 14,000 lavender plants across 26 acres. The farm hosts photo sessions, weddings and special events, workshops and classes throughout the year.
Danielle Lee is the marketing and event coordinator at Indigo Lavender Farms. The farm, formerly a construction dumping ground, was converted around 2015 when the owner/operator Trish Dennis and her husband planted lavender. Today, the 50-acre farm includes a greenhouse, chickens, peacocks, wetlands, and a farm store.
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Indigo Lavender FarmsIndigo Lavender Farms in Imlay City boasts more than 14,000 lavender plants.Indigo Lavender Farms is open seven days a week, providing visitors a u-pick experience, a farm store with homemade candles, and bath and body products. Thousands of visitors come to the farm and pick their own bundles, including bridal parties making bouquets, and other special outings like garden clubs, church groups, and field trips. Word-of-mouth referrals from friends encourage many visitors to make a trip to the picturesque setting of purple, blue, white, and pink hues.
“One of the main things we hear a lot is, ‘I drive by here all the time when we go up north, and we finally decided to stop. We can’t believe everything that’s here,’” Lee says. “When you say 50 acres and 14,000 lavender plants, it really doesn’t hit you how much that is until you're standing in it. It’s pretty significant, and being the largest lavender farm in Michigan by size, and in a small community like Imlay City, it’s a big impact.”
She’s also witnessed an uptick in lavender farms across the state, and frequently has other folks interested in starting their own, reach out to Indigo for guidance.
“There’s a real turn in going to a more natural way of living,” she says. “People are looking for more natural ways to relax, and lavender has a lot of benefits. We see a lot of that when people come into the store.”
Lee estimates this year’s peak lavender bloom to take place from around June 28 through July. She encourages visitors to bring a picnic lunch, a cooler, and hang out for the day. General admission is $7.50, and lavender cutting bundles are $18, and there are senior and veteran discounts. There are self-guided and owner-led tours available seasonally.
Sarah Spohn is a Lansing native, but every day finds a new interesting person, place, or thing in towns all over Michigan, leaving her truly smitten with the mitten. She received her degrees in journalism and professional communications and provides coverage for various publications locally, regionally, and nationally — writing stories on small businesses, arts and culture, dining, community, and anything Michigan-made. You can find her in a record shop, a local concert, or eating one too many desserts at a bakery. If by chance, she’s not at any of those places, you can contact her at sarahspohn.news@gmail.com.