Katie Doescher
Indigo Ridge Lavender Farm.
Indigo Ridge, outside Black Earth, hosts U-pick hours.
If you flew low over the Driftless area, you’d be in for a startling sight: patches of brilliant purple nestled between rolling green hills and rocky bluffs. The region has become a place to grow lavender and a destination for lavender lovers — or anyone wanting to experience a dose of beauty and calm.
For Katie Doescher, who runs Indigo Ridge near Black Earth, a passion for lavender began in college. "I took some health classes at UW–Madison and became interested in alternative wellness," she recalls. "That’s where I learned about aromatherapy and fell in love with it."
Sensitive to artificial fragrances, Doescher began making her own candles using only essential oils. Lavender, with its calming scent and soothing properties, became a favorite.
"When we moved into our home in rural Black Earth, I started wondering: could we grow lavender here?" Doescher says. Despite Wisconsin's clay-rich soil and a climate far removed from lavender’s Mediterranean origins, the family dove into research and gave it a try.
In 2019, they planted their first field. Now in their sixth season, they tend two fields with more than 600 plants, including English, French and hybrid varieties.
“Lavender is a labor of love,” says Doescher. “Weeding, managing the soil’s pH — there’s always something to do. Just when you think you're done, something else comes up. But it’s the perfect balance for me: working outside in nature and then switching to the creative side, developing products and running the business.”
Indigo Ridge hosts U-pick hours and is planning to expand to pop-up markets and workshops as well. While the farm doesn’t keep regular hours (it’s also their home), Doescher posts U-pick dates and times on its Facebook page.
“When people come out here from Madison, they feel the shift,” Doescher adds. “You get the peaceful drive through the country, and then the quiet of the lavender fields.”
Laura McReynolds
New Life Lavender and Cherry Farm.
Multiple activities and flower gardens are part of the visitor experience at New Life Lavender.
Half an hour’s drive north, in Baraboo, the McReynolds family runs New Life Lavender. They dreamed up the farm during a difficult time in their lives, when they moved from Kansas to Wisconsin, where Laura McReynolds grew up. The inspiration came from a picture she saw of a lavender field. “It was so beautiful and captivating, so peaceful, that I wanted to recreate that scene for others who were going through a difficult season in their lives,” McReynolds recalls. The couple both had farming backgrounds and wanted a business they could engage in with their three children. They bought the farm in 2015, and just as they’d hoped, their kids are still active in the business today.
New Life also offers U-pick hours, as well as an array of events and classes. In addition to 18,000 lavender plants and eight acres of wildflowers, visitors can enjoy a lavender labyrinth, wagon rides, live music, and a lavender festival tentatively set for June 27–29. New Life is open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Sept. 27; during peak season, it’s also open on Sundays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Check the website for information about activities, admission fees and reservations. Because of a cold spring, peak lavender bloom is expected to be a little late this year — New Life is predicting June 20-July 25.
Indigo Ridge and New Life are not the the area's only lavender farms; just Google "lavender farms Wisconsin." Both pride themselves on the hand-crafted products they make using lavender grown on their farms. Among the all-natural home and body products Indigo Ridge makes, one of Doescher’s favorites is their aromatherapy intention candles. “They’re made with sustainable soy wax, local beeswax, and organic coconut oil, blended with essential oils,” she says. A customer favorite is the lavender dryer bags. Hand-sewn by Doescher’s mom and filled with buds harvested on the farm, they offer a compostable, chemical-free alternative to dryer sheets. “Everything we make is created by hand, with care and intention,” Doescher adds. “People can feel good using our products in their homes and on their bodies.”
New Life’s McReynolds favors their facial skincare routine, which includes facial cleanser, face cream, lavender toner, coffee scrub, and lavender hyaluronic acid. For those who prefer eating their lavender, New Life also offers housemade lavender ice cream, lavender macarons, and white chocolate lemon lavender cookies, as well as lavender cherry pie (Fridays and Saturdays only, in season) along with lattes and lemonade.
But perhaps the place itself is the best gift the farms offer. “We really want people to enjoy the space,” says McReynolds. “Lavender and being outdoors are so healing for our souls.”
Indigo Ridge Lavender Farm
5140 Mickelson Road, Black Earth
facebook.com/IndigoRidgeLavender
New Life Lavender and Cherry Farm
E10766 County Road W, Baraboo
newlifelavender.com
