We transformed a hayfield into Oregon’s Finest Wholesale Lavender Farm

Our Journey: The Road to Premium Wholesale Lavender Production

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.

Close-up of green grass blades with water droplets.

STEP TWO We realized grow hay required LOTS of water

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.

Rows of lavender plants growing in a field with black plastic mulch, backed by green trees, hills, and a clear sky.

STEP FOUR We planted 9,500 lavender plants

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.

A scenic rural landscape with red poppies in the foreground, a lush green field, and a background of forested hills and mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

STEP ONE We Bought a Farm

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.

A rural landscape featuring freshly plowed farmland in the foreground, a dense forest of green trees in the middle ground, and a snow-capped mountain in the distance under a clear blue sky.

STEP THREE We Scrapped the Hay

A smiling man and woman taking a selfie outdoors with mountainous scenery and a clear blue sky in the background.

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

Purdue University College of Agriculture

The American Phytopathological Society

A scenic landscape showing a field of blooming purple lavender flowers in the foreground with tall green pine trees in the background under a clear blue sky.