Welcome!
Nearly 30 years ago Jim began his own beekeeping project. When we purchased our farm in 2000, the bees were the first part of our farm life. That quickly grew to include a greenhouse which primarily produced annuals for sale. Then came a big greenhouse and then a medium sized greenhouse originally used as a cold frame. Our project quickly grew to be a nursery which included annuals and perennials, including fall asters and mums, along with poinsettias.
After Jim’s retirement, we decided to totally retire, but then we learned about this plant which bees loved called lavender. In the Spring of 2012 we began what has become a significant operation focusing on propagating and growing lavender, along with producing products related to our bees and lavender.
Very early in this project, Wanda and another lady from our church, visited Prairie Lavender Farm near Bennington, and met this fellow, Mike Neustrom. Mike encouraged Wanda to bring her husband and come up and visit. Oh my, that visit was addictive, and today Mike and his wife, Diane, are good friends, and Mike has taught us so much, and we work together in several areas of the lavender business. We owe much of our journey in lavender to Mike, a founding member of the US Lavender Growers Association.
Today we are doing significant research and testing to determine what varieties we can grow in our climate. We are now cultivating between 35-40 varieties of hybrids and angustifolias. With our experience in propagation, we are now focusing on propagating cultivars to be sold to the public.
At the same time, Wanda continues to focus on lavender products and crafty items to sell.
Our 24 acre farm affords us a rather unlimited array of possibilities of developing a vast array of plants to produce flowers and buds throughout the growing season. As a part of Kansas Agritourism, we welcome visitors to experience lavender and learn about its future in Kansas agriculture.
