You may not associate lavender with Lookout Mountain, but you will by the time you finish reading this article. Alice and Bill Marrin, parents of three grown children, didn’t set out to own and operate a lavender farm in their retirement years. But they did want to move from Atlanta, where Alice enjoyed a career as a school librarian and Bill still works as a consultant.
They fell in love with the property they bought a couple of years ago in Lookout Mountain, Ga., even before they knew what they would do with it.
A native Texan, Alice grew up amidst endless fields of lavender, so she researched the practicality of a lavender farm on Lookout. Deer don’t like it, so she figured she’d already won half the battle. Used for pain relief, migraines, allergies, asthma, depression, acne, dry skin and colic, this pretty plant is certainly a rock star in the herbal world. Studies have even linked it to treatments for breast cancer in mice.
Lavender needs a hot, dry climate, and their first summer was anything but. However, the Marrins had wonderful results growing the gorgeous plant on their 55 acres. And other folks want to know how they did it. After a mere year in business, Alice lectured as a featured speaker at the U.S. Lavender Growers’ Association conference in Charleston, S.C. As well, she teaches classes, including Lavender 101, at the farm, instructing participants how to plant, maintain, harvest and propagate lavender. Bella Donna, a local beekeeper, also teaches classes at the farm on aromatherapy and honey infusions.
The lavender season is short, and for just under two weeks, over 1,400 folks came through the lavender farm in June, all spread out and socially distanced outdoors. There’s a little log cabin on the property that serves as a gift shop and offers essential oils, sprays, candles, lip balm and dryer balls that are all infused with lavender from the farm.
But even with the gorgeous purple blooms harvested, there’s still reason to visit this beautiful spot. The Marrins were surprised to find massive mature blueberry bushes on the property, and guess, what? It’s blueberry season, and U-Pick is going on now!
Also, if you would like a spectacular background for a photograph, Lookout Lavender Farm is just the spot. For a fee, you can request photo shoots for family pictures, wedding pictures, baby pictures or anything at all.
Lookout Lavender is at 1039 North Moore Road in Rising Fawn, Ga. Email alice@lookoutlavender.com or call (706) 993-1145 for more information, or go to lookoutlavender.com.
(Ferris Robinson is the author of two children's books, "The Queen Who Banished Bugs" and "The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds," in her pollinator series, with "Call Me Arthropod" coming soon. "Making Arrangements" is her first novel, and "Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity" is a collection of true tales about man's best friend. Her website is ferrisrobinson.com. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror. Ferris can be reached at ferrisrobinson@gmail.com )