For the Love of Lavender

Laromay Lavender Farm in Hollis offers five varieties of lavender, ensuring blooms all season long.

Transport your senses to the South of France, without the airfare.

When we think of lavender fields, images of the South of France come to mind. Luckily, we don’t have to travel that far to visit a lavender farm—there are two right here in the Granite State.

Purple heaven

Trish and Bill Carew of Laromay Lavender Farm in Hollis grow about 2,000 lavender plants on their two-acre property.

Trish’s love of lavender began by happy accident when she brought home an end-of-the-season-sale plant, which surprised her by blossoming the next summer. “I stepped out of my house one June morning and smelled something that took me off guard. I looked down and saw this beautiful purple plant and had to think about what I planted there the previous year. It was lavender. I took a few sprigs so I could smell it on my way to work, and I could not stop thinking about it,” she says. After an impromptu visit to a lavender farm in New York, she was hooked on the idea of growing her own field. “It was purple heaven,” she says. “Absolutely beautiful! The hum of all the bees was so calming.

I had to call Bill and tell him about it.

I just couldn’t express the sight, smell and feeling I had being there.”

They were hooked, and expanded their lavender patch for their own use.

“I grew it for fun and my co-workers thought I had turned into this weird herb lady! I had so much fun playing around making different things with it,” she says. “We eventually had 200 plants in the ground and tested all different ways of growing to see how it would grow best.” When they moved to Hollis in 2012, they wanted to turn their love of lavender into a hobby farm. After taking an agricultural business course at UNH Cooperative Extension, they realized their goal was achievable.

“We got the name Laromay when I was dreaming in my cubicle in the corporate world,” Trish says. “I wanted the name to mean something, so I came up with Lar for my dad Larry and May for my daughter Madison’s birth month. Then Laromay came to my mind. I thought it might sound a little odd, but then I realized the word aroma is in the middle. That’s all I needed. I love talking about that because it’s so special.”

They started with 450 plants and have expanded to include five different varieties giving them early-, middleand late-season blossoms that extend the cutting season. Since they are outgrowing their property, they are currently testing lavender on three acres of land down the road, across from the Old Pinehill Schoolhouse, where they periodically have pop-up shops. “It’s a much bigger piece of land, and we are hoping to move our operation over there eventually,” Trish explains. “The land has been farmed by the Howe Family for generations, and we are so lucky to be given the chance to grow our lavender there. We planted half of the field last year, so this will be our first year to see how well it’s done.”

Their pick-your-own season runs from mid-June through early August.

Along with U-pick lavender, they make and sell a wide range of lavenderthemed products in their shop. Lavender ice cream and lemonade are always big hits along with other lavenderrelated foods.

“The best feeling in the world comes from seeing the customers with smiles and a big purple bundle in their hand.

I especially love seeing the kids with bundles that they cut themselves,” Trish says. “We meet so many amazing people from all over, along with locals and people who want to start their own farm or just plant lavender in their yards to enjoy. I fully appreciate that I am lucky to meet such great people that I would not have met otherwise.”

The Carews invite you to check out the other gardens on their property and to take time to relax and breathe in the calming fragrance of the lavender blossoms. “All in all, we just want customers to have a place to go and escape the real world and enjoy themselves,” she says.

Lavender lifestyle

Growing lavender is a family affair at Lavender Fields at Pumpkin Blossom Farm in Warner. Mike and Missy Biagiotti and their three children all pitch in when there is work to be done. “It is all hands on deck,” says Mike. “This spring we planted another 1,000 plants and everyone helps with weeding, maintenance and harvesting.”

When they first moved to their 1790 farmhouse, they wanted to find a way to share the beauty of the 14-acre hillside location with others while honoring its agricultural past. “We wanted to do something that involved the whole family, not just now but as we all grow older,” says Mike. Looking toward the farm’s future, their eldest son is studying agricultural business at UNH. “The property lends itself to doing something beautiful in the field,” Missy says. “I wasn’t sure if growing lavender would work, but I was very optimistic since it incorporated so many elements I love,” she explains.

When her sister was going through cancer treatments, she needed ways to calm her mind. They used lavender to create a stress-relieving routine for her. Missy thought a field of lavender could create a healing space and calming retreat for others dealing with health issues. “Nature is a huge stress reliever,” she says, “and the healing benefits of lavender really attracted me to it.”

“I knew nothing about lavender,” says Mike, “but she believed in the plant and sold me on it.” They did their research, got busy planting and now grow about 7,000 plants of four varieties—longstemmed hybrids Phenomenal and Sensational for cutting, early bloomer Big Time Blue, which they use in many of their edibles since it has a beneficial taste profile, and Melissa, which has lighter, lilac-colored blossoms. In 2020, during the first summer of Covid, they opened up the lavender fields at Pumpkin Blossom Farm to the public for the first time and several thousand people came. “It was the perfect storm. People were not travelling far and stay-cations were the norm. Our visitors

appreciated being outdoors where they could control their own spacing and still be able to share a relaxing experience with their friends and families,” Missy says. “My three kids and all their friends jumped into action to help us park cars, assist guests in the field and help out in the farm store.” This year they opened the farm store in June, and U-pick will run from July 6-24, seven days a week.

The Biagiottis focus on the experience, offering not only pick-your-own lavender but other special events and activities for visitors to take part in as well. They have hosted yoga, meditation, aromatherapy and other health and wellness classes.

Lavender crafts and wreath-making are extremely popular with all ages, and this summer there will be a special class for kids called Lavender 5 Ways, showing how lavender can be enjoyed through all the senses. Their daughter has rabbits and a flock of chickens for the kids to see and pet. They encourage people to visit the farm, sit and enjoy the view, bring a picnic lunch, stroll through the fragrant field of lavender, take a walk on their shady nature trail and top off the day with a lavender lemonade or homemade snack. While you are there, be sure to snap a selfie sitting in Ellie—their vintage 1955 Ford pickup.

They make and sell many lavenderbased products including eye pillows, car air fresheners, neck wraps, shower steamers, lotions and lip balm in the wellstocked farm store located in their historic barn. Last year they were able to sell 140 pounds of lavender honey from their beehives. To distill their own lavender oil, they bought a custom-made, 60-liter copper still that holds 80-100 pounds of plant material. Mike tends the still and explains the process to visitors. The plants must steam for 12-14 hours, finally yielding about 6 ounces of essential lavender oil and about 5 gallons of liquid hydrosol.

“The oil separates naturally since it is lighter than water,” he points out. The hydrosol is distilled lavender water which they bottle and sell to be used as a fragrant room or linen spray.

The Biagiottis converted a classic Shasta camper into a commercial kitchen where they make all their goodies. “We use actual lavender in our products and not fake flowery flavoring,” Missy says.

“We also make our own lavender-infused simple syrup to use in lemonade, ice cream, shortbread cookies and cupcakes.” Since the kitchen is portable, they can take it to other venues as well.

Last fall the Biagiottis received a USDA Value Added Producer Grant for $250,000, which they have to match over the next three years. They plan to use a third of it for jobs, a third for marketing and the final third for the hard costs involved in creating food and beverages. “Lavenderinfused food and drink will be our focus,” explains Missy, who spent four months writing the 280-page grant. Now she is working on new ways to incorporate lavender into different foods and beverages and is experimenting with lavender cocktail and mocktail mixes. “Slowly but surely we are trying lavender in everything,” she says. “We’d like to make lavender the new pumpkin spice!” NHH

Grow Your Own Lavender

Both farms sell plants if you want to bring a bit of aromatherapy to your own yard. Missy Biagiotti offers this advice for successful growing:

• The plants like sandy, well-drained soil in full sun.

• Don’t overwater or mulch them.

• Snip off the flowers the first year to direct the plant’s energy into building a strong root system.

• Trim plant to keep the gumball shape.

RESOURCES

Laromay Lavender Farm • (978) 726-0995 laromay.com

Lavender Fields at Pumpkin Blossom Farm (603) 456-2443 • pumpkinblossomfarm.com