By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
LUCKEY—Kylee Seibert-Wongrowski is best known as the “Lavender Lady.” She and her husband, Scott, have developed some of his family’s traditional grain farm into a luscious-smelling lavender field along Luckey Road.
What began as an idea to create something of her own on some of the family’s acreage, Seibert-Wongrowski landed on growing lavender. She loves the farmer’s market vibe, but wasn’t interested in growing vegetables. She saw a TV show about growing lavender and thought maybe she could do that.
The first year she put 12 plants in the ground. They all died. She admitted she didn’t really know what she was doing.
After attending some conferences and connecting with Certified Naturally Grown, a grassroots version of organic certification, she incorporated some best practices and gradually added more plants to the field. The year she put 100 plants in the ground was the year of the polar vortex. The plants died that year too. “But that wasn’t my fault. So I thought, ‘At least I know more what I’m doing now,’” she recalled.
In 2018, she decided to give it “one more shot,” put in 250 plants, and see what happens. “If it doesn’t work, then maybe this isn’t supposed to be,” she said. That was also the year she put a call out on Facebook for help planting.
Her friends—many in traditional agriculture—told her, “Kylee, people are not going to come do your work for you.” But her authentic plea on Facebook to “come help a local farmer and learn about lavender” worked.
“People came from all over to help plant. And all those plants made it and thrived for a long time,” she said. Until this year.
Those 250 lavenders, which were planted by that big, caring, helpful community, didn’t make it through the fall drought and the frigid temperatures in January. Seibert-Wongrowski doesn’t know for certain, but she believes the plants succumbed to the double-whammy weather.
When she put out the call for help this year, the response was overwhelming… again. More than 40 people showed up to help, including putting 481 plants in the ground.
Seibert-Wongrowski was beyond grateful, and the support affirmed that what she is creating at Luckey Road Lavender Farm is what people (herself included) are looking for.
Busy calendar of events
Bringing people to the farm has grown into one of the most important aspects of what Luckey Road Lavendar Farm is all about. She welcomes everyone to visit and enjoy some of the special activities and events. She offers crafting classes on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m., story time for children on Fridays at 11 a.m., yoga among the lavender and other specialty classes.
Opening day is this Saturday, June 13. Even though the lavender may not yet be in bloom, there will be music, a food truck, potted lavender plants for sale, and the adorable farm shop fully stocked with lavender-based oils, lotions and sprays that she makes, food items from other small businesses, an offering of new wearables, and a coloring book she has created featuring items and animals found on their farm.
The biggest event of the summer for the farm is the Lavender Fest from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 27-28.
Last year’s fest welcomed over 2,200 people over the festival weekend.
This year is bound to be bigger. There will be 45 local vendors, crafters, makers, and artists, and five different food trucks this year. There will be lavender this year, she said, but the new plants will take a while to replicate the floral extravaganza that had previously filled the field.
“It will still be the same, welcoming environment,” she promised.
With more than 75 items in the shop, there will be plenty of lavender items available for shoppers looking for lavender items.
The farm is definitely kid-friendly for the festival, but also anytime, and during the story time on Friday mornings. Seibert-Wongrowski works with the Wood County District Public Library to help find children’s books to align with the theme of the day.
“I like this to be a fun place for kids,” she said. Her four-year-old daughter is always ready to party with other kids. The kids’ area in the middle of the field has shade, a sensory bin, Little Tikes people sets with farms and tractors, and a playhouse.
“This has turned into something I never imagined,” she said. “I’ve always said that lavender is the vehicle for what we have out here, but it’s so multifaceted.”
The lavender farm has allowed her to live more naturally and find natural alternatives for products. The business has grown into something so different from her initial plan when she was providing lavender buds to coffee shops.
“But it has also become a vehicle for people to gather. It just feels like a very welcoming way to be introduced to a farm or to this lifestyle,” she said. “I hope that people feel that it is accessible. What it’s turned into really does match what I hope for everyone: a place that feels welcoming, where you want to gather, be comfortable, learn, and just enjoy.
To learn more about the Luckey Road Lavender Farm and its events, visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/luckey.lavender or the website at www.luckeylavender.com/.
