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Photo by Corey Miller
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Kerry Messer and her family felt the peace of God while relaxing in Adirondack chairs as they gazed out upon the fields of Bleu Lavande lavender farm while visiting Quebec, Canada, where their daughter, Hannah, attended college.
“We saw something there,” recalled Messer. “We sat observing the other people there. Couples and complete strangers were talking, kids were playing and blowing bubbles. There must have been 50 cars there, but since it’s a wide-open space, it never felt crowded.”
That’s when divine inspiration hit.
“I thought to myself, ‘If we’re craving this, other people must be craving it.’”
So in December 2017, the couple purchased a 134-acre farm on Jolly Pond Road in James City County. Sweethaven Lavender, which features seven acres of lavender—a total of 20,000 plants—is an expansive pastoral space for children and adults to roam and enjoy the scenery.
“We’re created in the image of God and He placed in us a need to interact with the land and to be stewards of the land,” Kerry asserted.
Across from Sweethaven’s lavender fields is a vintage-feeling storefront with a patio area used for crafting workshops, group Bible studies, intimate concerts, entertaining and get-togethers.
Putting Their Hand to the Plow
The Messers will tell you, you can’t just plant and grow lavender like you would any other garden herb. The plants’ Mediterranean origin make it a hard sell within certain soils.
“Lavender is a challenging plant to grow, especially in Virginia’s humidity,” acknowledged Messer. In order to maintain their fields and keep them suitable for producing lavender, the Messers partner with Clemson University, Virginia Tech, William & Mary and Thomas Nelson Community College to determine scientific processes which support lavender production since Virginia’s climate is not hospitable to this herbaceous shrub. Linking arms with the academic community has proven to be very rewarding for both the students, who receive the benefit of using the farm as a living laboratory, and for Sweethaven which gleans solutions from the many sets of eyes evaluating agricultural challenges and implementing cutting edge technology to stay ahead of potential problems.
She also indicated that while most people associate lavender plants with the French countryside, there are actually over 400 cultivars of lavender—blue, pink, white, all shades of purple. “Some are perfume varieties, some medicinal, and some culinary,” Messer informed, adding that the farm is continually experimenting with which cultivars thrive best in the micro-climate of coastal Virginia. Before offering live plants for sale to customers she wants to be confident that she’s offering the correct lavenders that will actually thrive in the gardens of Hampton Roads.
Sweethaven grows both the English and French lavender varietals, which bloom at different times. “Typically, the ‘English’ varieties bloom mid-May through mid-June and these are the blooms with the deepest shades of purple, blue, pink, and white. The ‘French’ varieties usually bloom mid-June through mid-July and are generally paler in color but have a much higher camphor rate therefore making them very fragrant. Chanel No. 5 is made from this variety,” she said.
To successfully plant the equivalent of four football fields worth of lavender, the Messers needed extra hands on deck. For Kerry, this conjures up warm feelings of the olden days when communities would come together for barn raisings.
“We love the sense of community that a farm evokes. There is something so satisfying about working shoulder-to-shoulder while talking and enjoying each other’s company,” she quipped.
Once the field rows were marked and mounded, Messer posted a request for help on Facebook, hoping for a few people to come to the farm to help with the planting. After friends circulated her post, she was astonished to have 52 volunteers show up to help plant the fields.
“We planted 5,000 plants that day. All lovingly planted by hand. It was amazing,” she smiled. “Those kindhearted volunteers have become our biggest cheerleaders and supporters since.”
Others have donated their time using their particular skill sets. One man called the farm simply offering to lift and move heavy objects, while others invested handiwork and craftsmanship. When someone donated an old chicken coop, three volunteers came out of the woodwork from as far away as Virginia Beach to help restore it.
“A Williamsburg man built us a new door, a mother from Toano painted the inside, and a man from Virginia Beach came and painted the outside,” she shared.
The same was true of the sprawling equestrian fence that dances along the property’s edge. It was built with two weeks of donated time from neighbors and friends from their former church in Virginia Beach. Messer believes this outpouring of volunteerism stems from a deep and growing need our generation has to unplug from devices and return to nature.
“In this technological age, our souls crave the connection of the outdoors and meaningful relationships. There aren’t enough opportunities for people to connect in natural settings like this, so they come,” she said.
The Genesis of a Community Farm
Last year, Sweethaven Lavender hosted its first annual Lavender Festival on June 29, 2019, as a means to make a splash and introduce the farm to the community. The event sold out of its 3,000 tickets and provided a petting zoo, food trucks, entertainment, lavender picking, and an artisan market. Guests had the chance to peruse the on-site farm shop which features the farm’s signature skincare line, culinary products, artisan-made gifts and antiques.
The event proved to the family that what they were doing for the community was beneficial and necessary.
“We’ve had the embrace of a family from this community,” Messer stated, also citing the helpfulness of the county’s department of economic development.
Most of the products in the store are created by Kerry’s daughter, Hannah, who holds a certification in organic skin care formulation. The shop includes lavender oil-infused products like lip balm, facial moisturizer, and hand lotions. Hannah says, “Our inspiration comes from informed
consumers’ demand for natural, safe, properly balanced products which nourish and won’t irritate the skin.
“I painstakingly developed our line of lotions, facial moisturizers, home fragrance spray, bug spray, et cetera, to utilize effective combinations of high quality, ethically-sourced essential oils and butters that pair well with lavender to showcase and enhance its inherent well-loved qualities.”
And one of Kerry’s greatest joys for having a farm? Offering an open space for children to enjoy unstructured play—running through the grass, chasing butterflies and digging in the dirt.
“We share a common need for more sunshine, more unstructured play,” she expressed. “We have purposely not constructed a playground so kids can simply burn energy and use their imaginations. We have a couple of toy trucks and some digging tools and the kids thoroughly love entertaining themselves with them. It’s that sort of simplicity and unfettered enjoyment of nature that exemplifies the Sweethaven experience.”
