BUCYRUS – The purple and green waves of lavender in the field just southwest of town are done blooming this year, but they’ll be back.

Beckoning visitors to their beauty, their scent, and to Abundantly Blessed Farm, 1140 Mt. Zion Road.

Scott and Lydia McKnight run the boutique lavender farm, which they established two years ago.  It’s a self-serve farm stand in the summer, where visitors can pick bouquets of the fragrant flowers.  And it’s the home of hundreds of culinary and hybrid lavender plants and an array of custom lavender products the McKnights make in their home. They feel “blessed.”

“We started honestly with one small lavender plant in our flower bed,” said Scott McKnight, whose front door is just 100 yards away from the two-and-a-half-acre field.  “In 2022 we planted 80 plants and this year we put more than 500 in the ground.”

McKnight, who’s a full-time nurse for the Veteran’s Administration, said he and his wife decided to plant the popular perennials after randomly visiting one of the largest commercial lavender farms in Northern Michigan a few years ago, Lavender Hill Farm near Boyne City.

“No one else in the area was doing it at the time,” McKnight said.  “Lavender is a Mediterranean plant so if you don’t have a green thumb, it caters to that.  You dig a hole, add limestone, and mound it up.  Once it takes root, no more water is needed and it’s just what God provides.  Plus, it smells good.”

He and his wife, a Bucyrus native, attend Wayside Chapel and she came up with the farm’s name from the Bible.  “We use the farm as a ministry to tell others about Jesus,” she said.

The McKnights, who have four children, make skincare and homecare products from the lavender grown on their farm – linen spray, beard oil, and lavender syrup kits, among others.  But their number-one seller is tallow balm, a skin cream.  “We try to source as local as possible for the ingredients in our products,” McKnight said.

The children often play in the field during the summer, especially during peak blooms in June and July.  This year, McKnight said, they pruned the plants in June and were pleased to reap a second harvest in August.  They also hosted their first open house for the public and offered pick-your-own bundles.

Munstead, Phenomenal, and Early Blue Scent are just some of the varieties of lavender grown at Abundantly Blessed Farm.  But the McKnights also stay busy tending to dozens of chickens and are proud of their sunflowers and wildflower meadow near the country road brimming with Cosmos, Bachelor Buttons, and other colorful flowers.

On November 11, the couple will be conducting a simmer pot class for kids at Wayside Chapel “to bring the smell of fall into the home,” McKnight said.  They are also planning to hold other classes down the road to explain and demonstrate how essential oils extracted from lavender can be used in a variety of products and to flavor baked goods and beverages.

The McKnight kids are already fans of lavender hot chocolate and lavender chocolate chip cookies.  Their products are sold online, and the farm can be booked for photography sessions.  “Honestly, for Lydia and I just having something to do together as a family is important.  But we enjoy getting to meet new people at the farm and new faces too.”