I’m often asked how and why I got started with lavender. So I thought I would share the story of how the lavender fields at SummitWynds came about.

Back in July 2015, my late husband Dick Atkins and I were given permission from the Town of Holden to host weddings on our farm. Shortly after, the person from the town retired and in 2016 the new employees informed us that we could no longer host weddings.. During this battle my husband was diagnosed with brain cancer and as expected, was very stressed. I looked into natural remedies for the anxiety he was going through and discovered lavender. We used this during my husband’s illness and although he passed away, he shared how much it helped with his stress, headaches and anxiety.

After continuous research on lavender, I realized our farm contained the perfect growing conditions. It was perfect timing as we were looking for something to do with our farm as we were no longer permitted to host weddings. We had invested over $200,000 into the farm for weddings and were forced to cancel and refund deposits on 52 weddings.

In 2017, with the help of several friends I planted 2,500 lavender plants comprising of five varieties. In 2018, again with the help of friends, I planted another 1,500 plants of 20 additional varieties. The Lavender Labyrinth was planted in memory of my late husband Dick who passed away in 2017 after a 14 month battle and  our dear friend Bobbie Pollitt, who passed away in January 2018 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.

I continue on with the hopes of keeping the farm in my family. On Valentine’s Day 2019 I was blessed with the birth of my first grandchild, a baby girl named Hazel. I wish her grandfather was here to see her but I know he’s watching over us.

 So, thank you for supporting my farm. It is a lot of work for me and it’s very costly to try to keep this farm going. Your ticket purchase helps me with all the maintenance and upkeep that needs to be done. I couldn’t do this without your support and the support of so many friends who have stepped up to help me. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!