Love at First Scent

The story of Michiana lavender is as much about family and home as it is about flowers and farming. On these small family farms, three couples lovingly tend the aromatic herb prized for its color, fragrance and usefulness. 

Each farm offers fresh lavender during the short summer blooming season as well as lavender- and herb-based products, many of which are created right on the farms. Products include essential oils, hydrosols (fragrant waters), soaps, balms, salves, lotions, craft and decorative items, honey and more. In addition to the shops and markets, each grower offers products online.

Everyone knows Martha

The story of Michiana lavender begins with Martha Wilczynski, who has been growing lavender for more than 20 years on her childhood farm, nestled in the verdant, rolling hills west of Niles, Michigan. Those who know and grow lavender in our area know Martha.

Wilczynski’s interest in growing lavender emerged in 1992, when she helped organize a fragrant plant show at a botanical conservancy. Wilczynski says, “I smelled it and said, ‘I’ve got to start growing this!’” After experimenting for several years, she planted the first half acre at Lavender Hill and started developing products in 2001. She quit her job in 2008 to focus on the farm. 

Wilczynski nurtures about 3,500 plants just steps from her home on an acre of land, planting several varieties to ensure the longest growing season. Her lavender ranges from white to dark purple with a variety of fragrance profiles, and Wilczynski extends the season with sunflowers and other annuals.

Visitors to Lavender Hill enjoy stunning views of the field, surrounding hills and a pasture that a few sheep call home. During the growing season, customers can cut fresh lavender and shop at the farm store. The farm also offers distillation demonstrations and craft classes, including watercolor painting with a local artist. 

Martha’s husband, Bill, tends bees that produce honey with a “nice, light tanginess to it, a floral character.” Bill still works full time and “dabbles in garlic,” a crop he plans to develop when he retires. 

Our backyard … You are welcome here

Almost nine years ago, during a multi-state search for lavender, Doreen King learned that many lavender growers farm small acreages in their retirement. Although disappointed that she could not find summer-blooming fresh lavender for her son’s late September wedding, Doreen was intrigued. She suggested to her husband, Mike, that they consider growing lavender in their retirement years. With cheerful skepticism, Mike replied, “Lavender’s a color, right? Sure, we can do that.”

Two weeks later, Mike suffered a stroke that cost him his job and the ability to speak clearly. The day Mike came home from the hospital, Doreen said, “We’re not promised anything. … We’re definitely not promised tomorrow. … Let’s dig our backyard up and grow lavender today. You find a way to grow it, I’ll find a way to sell it, and you’ll never have to talk to another person as long as you live, if you don’t want to.” 

 the Kings grow 3,500 lavender plants plus other botanicals on about 2 acres of their 3½ -acre farm—Lakeside Lavender and Herbs—near LaPorte, Indiana. Mike tends the lavender and Doreen, a certified herbalist, produces about 80 products that they sell at the South Bend Farmers Market and at a small farm shop during the growing season..

The couple bubbles as they talk about their farm, where they kick off the summer U-pick season with a Lavender Festival the weekend before Independence Day. Back after a two-year hiatus, past festivals featuring food and artisan vendors have drawn 2,000 visitors over two days. Visitors to the farm can also walk the 62-foot diameter labyrinth, with stone paths defined by lavender.

The Kings also offer demonstrations.  In one program, participants cut lavender from the field to fill a chamber in an all-glass still named Alice Ball, then watch while learning about the history and mechanics of the distillation process, leaving with essential oil they helped produce.

“You can bring lunch!”

When you visit Hickory Creek Lavender Farm in Stevensville, Michigan, don’t be surprised to see visitors practicing yoga in the field, an artist with easel nestled amid the lavender, or a guest taking in the view from an Adirondack chair. Owners Peggy Lynne and Randy Cupp nurture their lavender in a setting Peggy Lynne describes as “open, friendly and welcoming” for people who “love nature and love lavender,” adding, “and you can bring lunch!”

The Cupps grow almost 3,000 lavender plants on 2 acres of a 20-acre property that has been in Randy’s family for over 100 years. Randy says their 6-year-old business “started as a hobby, evolved to a garden, and now to a small business.” Growing lavender is “a labor of love and also a lot of hard work,” adds Peggy Lynne.

During the growing season, customers can cut fresh lavender from the field and purchase lavender and lavender-based products at the small storefront. In Michigan, you can find Hickory Creek lavender at New Buffalo Farmers Market, St. Joseph Farmers Market and at the annual Stevensville Mother’s Day Festival.  

Hickory Creek bees produce honey, and Peggy Lynne, who creates most of the farm’s products, says that all parts of the lavender plant can be used: Fresh flowers last for years when dried, brides can throw dried buds instead of rice, culinary lavender buds can be used for tea and the stalks make ideal fire starters.

Whether you fancy the South of France, a Tuscan hillside, an English cottage garden or a Michiana backyard, you’ll find a happy place when you visit these small farms, thanks to the subtle beauty of lavender in bloom, the soothing fragrances floating on summer breezes and the warm welcomes extended by the families who care for it all. 

Visit websites and social media for farm and market locations/hours and online shopping.

Lavender Hill Farm

1219 Morris Dr.
Niles, MI

thelavenderhill.com 
269.684.0123 

Lakeside Lavender and Herbs

273 W. Johnson Rd.

LaPorte, IN

lakesidelavenderandherbs.com
219.324.4930

Hickory Creek Lavender Farm

5291 Saint Joseph Ave.

Stevensville, MI

hickorycreeklavender.com
269.888.4700

Geri Pawelski has called Michiana home since 1988, and after a career spent in offices, spends her time volunteering in the community, taming her yard, spoiling her cats and exploring the delights of our region.