There's a tourist destination in Wright City popular among bees and butterflies. And it's no wonder, because it smells so good.
Tracy Smith, lavender farmer, said, "All you have to do is rub the hands on the plant and you're going to get that traditional lovely lavender fragrance."
Tracy got the idea for this purple piece of paradise after reading a magazine highlighting lavender farms in the U.S.
She said, "Upon reading the articles in this magazine, I found lavender was deer and rabbit resitant and I thought, 'Oh this is perfect for us, we could actually keep something alive that the animals wont eat.'"
She started with 20 plants and when they quadrupled in size over a few months, "We thought, 'We can do this.'"
Long Row Lavender farm was born.
"We have about 1300 plants today," Tracy said.
Lavender doesnt just bloom purple.
"We have Edelweiss ,which is this beautiful white variety right here and it is intensely fragrant," she said.
Lavender, both white an purple, recently bloomed at the farm which means it's one of Tracy's favorite times of year to be a lavender farmer.
"I get the benefit of harvesting the plant and then you get this intense beautiful bundle of flowers," she said.
Tracy harvests, bundles, then hangs it to dry in the loft of a barn which is used as her workshop. She make some of the products sold in her lavender-themed boutique, all located on the farm.
Long Row Lavender is one of only a few lavender farms in Missouri.
"It's not native to Missouri. It wants a hot dry climate, we give it a hot humid climate. It's not the easiest to grow in the Midwest, however it's so worth it," she said.
Long Row Lavender is located at 26549 South Stracks Church Road in Wright City, about an hour from St. Louis.
You can like them on Facebook @longrowlavender.
Check out their website to see a list of classes offered at the barn at longrowlavender.com.
The number is (636) 699-0690.
The farm and boutique are open one day a week, Saturdays from 10 AM to 4 PM.
