Welcome to
Lavender Dawn Farms
Simple Living Growing Lavender
Lavender Dawn Farms is a small farm located in the beautiful Emmett valley. Years ago, my mother and I had a dream to start a lavender farm. Unfortunately, my mother and sister were killed in a house fire before our dream could come true. My mother was a hero and died trying to save my sister and I. After their deaths I thought our dream of having a lavender farm would never become a reality. A few years later our dream came true and Lavender Dawn Farms was started and named after my mother. Since starting our farm, we have planted over 1500 plants and 13 varieties of lavender. With every plant we place I remember my mother and the hero she was.
My mother owed a beautiful farm house built in 1907 by the Conrads. The idea of a white farmhouse enhanced by the elegance of purple lavender created a picture of dreams and romance.
We researched in books, online and even visited lavender farms across several states. When we thought we were ready, we ordered 100 lavender plugs. Now, the soil we had was clay. Lavender likes rocky soil for drainage. My mother came up with the idea of throwing sand in each hole to help the clay soil drain. Well, when you put clay, sand, and water together do you know what you get? Cement! Yes, we cemented 100 lavender plugs into the ground. We lost our 1st 100 plants. As disappointing as it was, we still wanted to try. We started a little smaller with 25 plants. They were a success!
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after we planted our successful lavender plugs that a tragedy struck and forever changed our lives. My grandparents were getting older and decided it would be good to move closer to us. They lived in Aberdeen, Washington. My mother and I volunteered to go and help them pack up their belongings and move them to the Treasure Valley. On the way we would pick up my 24 year old sister in Oregon. It was her 25th birthday that weekend and we were going to celebrate with her.
I had 3 little ones that my husband was going to care for for the week. Kenrich was 6, Rowynn was 4, and Eidwyn was 2. I had never left them and was a bit nervous. I knew I had an amazing husband and they would be well cared for. His mom even offered to help.
We ended up leaving later than we had planned and headed to pick my sister up in Oregon. My mom and I had a wonderful drive. We talked about the kids, life, and of course lavender. We spent the night with my sister, Courtney in Oregon and left early the next morning for Aberdeen, Washington. We made a few sightseeing stops like, the high school Twilight was filmed at and Voodoo Donuts.
As soon as we arrived we started to work. My grandfather showed me old family pictures, journals, and documents. We great excitement, I put those aside in the front of the house to take home with me. My grandmother showed me her clothes and hats from younger years. She even modeled 4 inch high heels with fringe on them to prove she still had it at 78 years old.
My grandmother had just lost her uncle, whom she grew up with. They were only a few years apart and were very close. As it got late, my grandparents decided to go to bed while we continued to work. I heard my mom try to comfort my grandmother by bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, a loving Heavenly Father, and eternal families. My mother reassured my grandmother that this life wasn’t the end. She would see her uncle again.
After a few hours Courtney went to bed in the bedroom on the 3rd floor. My mother and I continued to work on the first floor until a little past 1 a.m. We finally went to bed to leave the rest for the morning. I slept in the room Courtney was in, on the floor. My mom took a bed in the room next door. My mom told me good night and left the door ajar.
The fire marshals estimate that the fire started around 4 a.m. it spread fast and burned hot. My grandparents had 1 fire alarm. The batteries had gone out the day before. He went out to get new ones, but had bought the wrong batteries. We had no alarm to alert us of the fire that was burning right below us. I woke up to smoke filling the room. I yelled for my mother and she yelled back. Courtney and I tried to exit the room into the hallway. The hallway was filled with smoke and flames. The only other exit was the tiny window in the room. There wasn’t much air left and we were having difficulty breathing. With 2 punches I broke the double paned glass and metal dividers. I jumped up through the window and leaned back for my sister. I couldn’t find her. I yelled and yelled for help. A gentleman on the next street up heard my cries. He came running down and convinced me to jump off the 3rd story roof. Covered in blood and tears, I started looking for my mom. The neighbors had seen her. She had placed a fire ladder on the roof to get down. When hearing my cries, my mom reentered the house to save my sister and I. She made it one or two steps before she passed out due to the smoke inhalation.
After helping me the neighbor went and broke the window to my grandparents room and pulled them out of the house. The firefighters arrived after difficulty navigating the narrow roads. They went right to work making it safe for them to enter the burning home. The flames were high about the house and trees.
I was taken to the hospital and admitted due to the amount of smoke and soot in my lungs and the cuts on my hands, wrist, legs, and arms. I will never forget laying in the hospital bed sobbing and knowing I had just lost my mother and sister. My heart goes out to the firefighter who entered my room with tears filling his eyes to tell me that they didn’t make it. With my husband and children over 540 miles away I laid alone in a hospital. The compassion of strangers, police, doctors, and nurses truly touched my heart.
As I look back I see the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for a fun weekend my mother, sister, and I made full of memories. One of the greatest blessings was to hear some of my mom’s last words testifying of eternal families. This experience has been traumatic and life changing for the whole family. I am grateful to have known these two beautiful women. I am honored and humbled that my mother gave her life trying to save her girls.
It has been years of healing and putting ourselves back together. Planting and growing lavender has helped our family down that path. I decided to start a lavender farm with my girls, to start living again. My mom and I’s middle name is Dawn. Dawn is also the new morning starting again. Another opportunity at a new day. I found it fitting to name our farm Lavender Dawn. Our logo has a mourning dove holding a lavender bunch, a sign of peace, love, and new beginnings.
