In the Dahlonega countryside sits a lavender farm. But it's not just for looks - there's a lot more to a farm than that. There are real, hard-working people behind it.
One of those people is Tina Misko, owner of Red Oak Lavender Farm. She had the idea when her husband, Bill, retired.
"We looked at olive trees at first, but they don't do so well up here in this area," said owner Tina Misko. "Then I saw this beautiful picture in a magazine of the purple fields of lavender and I said, 'I can do this!' because I always have lavender growing in my gardens."
So Misko asked her husband Bill, who had recently retired, if they could use their land to plant the purple herbs. Bill said the plants had to be successful, so she set out to learn more.
"I researched for a year, took a class online from Susan Herrington and from there, I ordered my plants and started tilling."
Bill did keep busy during his retirement, modifying machines, even antiques, to help with tilling, kicking up rocks and planting the lavender. Misko said they also had to modify the Georgia clay in order for the Mediterranean herb to flourish.
The farm is a family affair - back to those hard-working people - with Misko's son, daughter and son-in-law helping out. Bill, unfortunately, passed away this April.
While the farm is mostly purple, there are a few more things it encompasses, including goats, honey bees, and chickens, and of course, a little store where you can buy lavender, themed gifts, local honey, and more.
"Towards the end of [the first] season, we were able to go to the farmer's market, and everybody loved our fresh bundles and dried bundles. Then we started making things from our lavender - soaps and lotions and sachets, linen spray, you name it," said Misko.
She told me Bill enclosed their garage two years ago so they could sell their goodies at the farm. "We thought about having it in the historic downtown Dahloenga, but all of our friends at the farmer's market said, 'No, we want to come out and see the lavender in bloom, how beautiful it is,' so that's what we ended up doing, enclosing the garage."
And, if you're like the Misko family (or myself) and can't get enough of the purple stuff, you're in luck. The Lavender Festival will be held June 4 - that's the weekend after this one.
"We open up the fields to kind of give back to the community, where they can enjoy: have a picnic out here, we'll have musicians from the fairs, from 11 to 3 o'clock, harp music and so forth; the local spinning guild spinning wool; we'll also have the French food truck from Atlanta coming up. We'll have demonstrations where people can make their lavender wands and halos, I'll provide materials, it's just $5, and if you want to pick your own bouquet, it's just $5," Misko said.
Cruise down Highway 60 towards Dahlonega and look for Red Oak Flats Road. You can also check out Red Oak Lavender Farm on the web and on Facebook.
Join us next week as we stay near Dahlonega and talk the legend of Stonepile Gap. Bring a shiny stone with you.
Until then,
Stay curious.
Not just purple: Jean Davis lavender is a pink lavender and one of 18 types of lavender at the farm
Melissa and her buddy Dodger are the goats at the Misko's farm. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them!
Tina Misko and her daughter in front of one of their fields
Fields and fields of lavender blooming
Lots of lavender
Honey bees live here!
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