Our Story: The Decision to Grow Lavender
We Bought a Farm
Once upon a time (October 2013), a Master Gardener, a Marriage and Family Therapist, an Atmospheric Chemist and a Hospital Patient Access Specialist pooled their resources and bought a Timothy hay farm on 10 acres of land in Parkdale, OR.
Thirsty Timothy hay
Timothy hay is a crop that requires more water than we can give it to raise a healthy (disease free) crop. The Columbia Basin Watershed had already been limited by recent droughts and extreme heat waves.
We Scrapped the Hay
With this understanding, it was apparent that this crop didn’t quite match the climate it was growing in. The drain on our local water supply and damage to our delicate soil was unacceptable. We had to scrap the hay crop.
So Lavender it is……..
Beginning in the Spring of 2019, Van Gogh Lavender was created to provide healthy and sustainably grown lavender plants that need 90% less water than Timothy hay. We practice and promote sustainable landscaping, gardening, lavender farming, lavender processing and lavender product development.
Kevin and Sandra Bush: Owners, Farmers and Growers of Van Gogh Lavender
On a regular basis, we integrate the most current information into our work.. Our sources of information include...
Oregon State University department of Horticulture
Oregon Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The American Horticultural Society
Perdue University College of Agriculture
The American Phytopathological Society
We collect information from a broad range of sources