Lavender farm is a breath of fresh air for longtime Ayr pig farmers
The Lavender farm is a popular stop for photographers and brides, especially in July
AYR — Neat rows of purple and white lavender plants sway in the breeze and bathe in the sun at the Gillies family farm in Ayr.
Married couple Barb and Bob Gillies, both 70 years old, never imagined 12 years ago that they would one day harvest nearly 2,000 lavender plants every summer on their property.
And they definitely never thought they would host farm tours and yoga classes, book 12 weddings a year in their barn and make soaps and other products from the scented blooms.
“It smells better than pigs,” said Barb with a laugh.
Barb would know. She and Bob ran a hog farming operation for decades on the 150-acre property along Drumbo Road near Pinehurst Road.
After more than 30 years in the business, they quit in 2006 and sold about 120 acres of their farm.
“We sold the herd — that was for economic reasons,” said Bob, adding the industry wasn’t doing well.
“I wandered around in the dark there for a few years not knowing what to do.”
“We did a lot of soul-searching,” Barb added.
That’s when they stumbled across lavender farming. They toured farms throughout the province to get an idea of what was involved.
“It was certainly something that we could get into inexpensively — there was not a lot of overhead to it and we thought it was something we would just enjoy,” said Barb.
And that was that. The couple jumped into the lavender-growing business.
It took about three years and a lot of hard work before they were able to grow a decent crop.
“When we got the lavender, then it was sort of, ‘Now what are we going to do with it?’ ” said Bob laughing.
He attended a lavender conference south of the border and learned about distilling the buds of the plant to produce essential oil and lavender water.
“We ordered a still from Portugal and I will say I learned the art of distillation,” said Bob, who now makes creams, linen spray, soaps and other products on the farm.
They use a variety of different lavender plants to do so. For example, the white lavender variety is sweeter smelling then some of the others they grow — it’s also Barb’s favourite.
And while they use the essential oil to make some of their products, they are not able to sell it on its own.
“We can’t produce enough of it to sell the raw product,” said Bob. “Kind of a rule of thumb (is) on average, you get about one millilitre of oil per plant. So, if I distilled everything we have here, we’d get about two litres of oil.”
But Barb and Bob acknowledge that the soaps and sprays are not as important to the business, called The Lavender Farm, as the “show.”
Each summer, particularly in July, the bright buds attract photographers, travellers, brides looking for the picture perfect wedding venue, curious, shoppers and more. The lavender is harvested in late July and early August.
The lavender farm — and the other parts of the business that have developed as a result of it — has been a labour of love for the couple whose friendly canine Bella follows behind them as they walk through the farm.
“There is life after pigs,” said Barb with a smile.
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