Lavender Lori

Lavender Lori began her journey into lavender farming after a visit to the Sequim, Washington Lavender Festival in 2000. Starting with little knowledge, money, or land, she became a sharecropper at Ten Spoon Winery in Missoula's Rattlesnake Canyon from 2001 to 2013. In 2011, she moved her operation and has been farming exclusively on her own land in Montana's Mission Valley since 2014. Before her lavender venture, she owned Kinship Gardens, a garden maintenance, design, and consulting service.

Lori employs a hands-on, artisanal approach to her lavender farming, making all products herself without outsourcing labor. Her farming methods are adapted to the high elevation and challenging climate of western Montana, which she believes can be manipulated to suit various locales. She focuses on the French 'Grosso' and English 'Sachet' varieties, the latter being hardy enough for growers east of the divide.

Lavender Lori is known for her lively workshops, presentations, and book signings, where she shares her extensive knowledge of lavender farming, culinary uses, crafting, and essential oil distilling. She lives off-grid in a 77-square-foot cabin in the south Mission Valley and offers a similar guest cabin for visitors to experience off-grid living. Her website features a PayPal shopping cart with a range of artisanal lavender products, including bouquets, sachets, smudge sticks, bath salts, immunity tincture, bruise salve, seasonal wreaths, and small-batch essential oil and hydrosol. Signed copies of her self-published book, 'Lavender Farming: Secrets from a Hard Row Hoed,' are available for purchase.