SOMERET, Ky. – Driving through the hills of Woodstock, Ky., just outside of Somerset, motorists will pass endless fields of corn, soybeans and hay. As they keep driving in this part of south-central Kentucky, they’ll suddenly spot fields in shades of lilac where a purple herb has replaced traditional row crops.

Welcome to the Woodstock Lavender Farm, where a mother-daughter team turned their passion for lavender into a growing, successful experiment.

“I thought that if I was going to live out here on the land that my grandparents worked on and loved so much, I want to do something with it,” said Allison Horseman, who grows and harvests the herb with the help of her mother, Mary Ann May. “I knew traditional farming was out of the question. We had to do something special with it.”

Horseman was searching for an oddity of sorts. That’s when she turned from growing yellow corn and beans on her 300-acre farm to purple lavender.

“Mom got the idea of growing lavender from a Farm Credit cookbook recipe,” Horseman said.

She worked with three universities to do research on whether lavender could be grown in her part of Kentucky. When she was given the nod that it was suitable for her area, Horseman began with just 50 plants. To this day she tends to 1,000 plants of 14 different varieties.

“A thousand plants is not many,” she said. “We’re actually quite small compared to others who grow the plant. And while we have 14 varieties of lavender there are roughly 480 varieties worldwide.”

The story really began about 100 years ago when a young man named L.G. Colyer borrowed money to buy a farm in the rolling hills of Pulaski County, Ky. The dream was shattered, though, with the arrival of the Great Depression. Colyer wasn’t able to repay the remaining $600 on his loan. He then travelled by train to Detroit and worked for Dodge Brothers and sent money back home to save the farm. After the death of his first wife, Colyer remarried and, with his new wife, Zella, built a house on the land when their daughter, Mary, was three years old.

When Horseman had children, she wanted them to have a connection to the land and their roots, so she and her husband moved back into the house where her mother had grown up.

In 2011, the Somerset farm was home to horses, hay, tobacco and a small dairy operation. When Horseman purchased the farm in 2012, she knew she wanted to give the farm a brand new look. Not wanting to delve into traditional row crops she opted for lavender on the advice of her mother. However, growing this plant in the foothills of the Appalachians is a major task as the climate is unpredictable and very humid. Plus, lavender needs careful cultivation and constant care. There is plenty of weeding and de-budding to do with this plant, and harvest must be done by hand, stem by stem. Nonetheless, the two engaged in growing this colorful herb.

Horseman elicited help from the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD). While working with KCARD, she was forced to look to the future and think seriously about start-up costs, short and long-term goals and plans for the future.

This mother-daughter team was “all in” with lavender, and by 2013 their lavender farm (and business) was born.

“What we’ve learned in nine years of growing lavender is that every little area here is its own unique microclimate,” Horseman said, referring to the finicky climate and growing conditions in her part of the state.

Horseman and May take the lavender bundles they harvest and hang them to dry in the same barn that was once used to dry tobacco. Once the lavender is dried out, they rub the flowered stems together in their hands until the tight little clusters of buds fall free. Each one of those buds falling away free is the very beginning of their handcrafted and natural lavender products in several forms: culinary, bath and body, and home goods. From those buds they produce sachets and soaps, dryer balls and eye pillows. They even have teas and cookie mixes along with a newly created lavender syrup and lemonade mix, as well as lavender bug spray, lavender oil and lavender roll-on that helps relax and heal small wounds. Horseman and her mother obtained a license for cosmetic production. They also wholesale to 30 stores across the country.

“We started out with just two products and now we offer more than 20,” Horseman said. “It’s a hobby that has gotten out of control.”

According to Horseman, the lavender growing season in her area begins Memorial Day and ends around the 4th of July. The farm hosts a variety of events during this open season, including a U-Pick operation.

“It’s fast and furious around here,” she said. “Every year we try to offer something different. This year we have five weekends of U-Pick and we offer five classes dealing with herbs,”

And they are not done growing yet. Woodstock Lavender Farm has recently started Kentucky’s first culinary lavender monthly subscription box: The Purple Spoon. They also offer a quarterly box, the “Farmily” Box, which includes products from their farm and other local producers. These unique offerings have a wide reach, with their Kentucky products being shipped as far as Virginia, North Carolina and Hawaii.

“We just want people to know that we try to be authentic with our products and we do it because we love it and want to promote diversity in agriculture,” Horseman said.