Seven Years Ago We Planted 200 Lavender Plants to See What Would Happen

A personal anniversary note from Gina Hambly

Well, here we are. Hambly Lavender Farm is seven years old.

If you had shown me today's farm back in October 2019 - nearly 5,000 lavender plants, visitors walking the rows, a whole collection of products, and a Gold Medal for Milton's Dutch Mill essential oil - I would have laughed and asked whether you had the right Hamblys.

The honest beginning was far more practical than romantic. We had 26 acres in San Miguel, years of drought had made us very conscious of water, and we needed to find something that could handle our heat and give us a real chance to build a business. Lavender kept coming up as the answer.

Why Lavender

Our kids really started us down this road. They grew up in 4-H and FFA, and a few years and many farm animals later, all of us were hooked on agricultural life. Our children are the sixth generation of our family raised in the Paso Robles area, so working the land felt both new and familiar.

When we bought the property in 2017, we pictured orchards and animals. We brought in a consultant to walk the land and tell us what might actually grow here. We needed a crop that could thrive with very little water and begin producing sooner than an olive orchard, which can take years. Lavender could bloom in its first year. It could be sold fresh or dried, used in culinary products, or distilled into essential oil. Lavender had shelf stable options, and I liked that.

So, in October 2019, Milton and I planted about 200 lavender plants. That was the whole plan: put them in the ground, see if they could make it through a San Miguel summer, and decide what to do next.

Then COVID Showed Up

Our first crop bloomed in early 2020. Talk about timing. The lavender was ready, but the world had changed almost overnight.

We did what small farm businesses do: we figured out the next step. We tested recipes, made products in small batches, hauled them to informal pop-ups, and asked customers a lot of questions. They became our best focus group, whether they knew it or not. They told us what they loved, what they used every day, and what they wanted us to make next. Thank goodness they were not shy.

All the while, Milton and I were still working full-time. Hambly Lavender Farm was very much a side hustle. We reused materials, reinvested what the farm earned, and added new rows only when we could pay for them. We did not take on debt to make the place look finished before it was ready. It was not glamorous, but it was ours, and it kept growing.

Can We Visit the Farm

Everywhere we went, people asked the same question: Can we visit your lavender farm? We heard it at pop-ups, markets, and events. After a while, Milton and I looked at each other and realized our customers had been telling us what to do all along.

Instead of loading everything up and taking the farm to them every weekend, we opened the gates and invited them here. That decision changed the business. It also showed us that people wanted more than a product. They wanted to walk the rows, learn how lavender is grown and distilled, bring a picnic, and have a place to breathe for a while.

Seasonal U-Pick days, guided visits, workshops, and farm gatherings grew from those visits. I still love hearing someone say their shoulders dropped when they arrived. That is the feeling we want people to take home with them, whether it comes from an afternoon at the farm or a bottle of linen spray on the nightstand.

Nearly Five Thousand Plants and a Gold Medal

Today, Hambly Lavender Farm has nearly 5,000 plants across eight varieties. We still hand-weed every row - yes, every row - hand-harvest the lavender, and distill it here on the farm. We know these plants very well by now, and they still teach us something every year.

Milton is our head distiller, and in 2025 we entered his Dutch Mill Lavender Essential Oil in the International Lavender Oil & Culinary Competition. It was our first competition. He brought home a Gold Medal. You better believe we celebrated.

Why Year Seven Feels Especially Worth Celebrating

This anniversary happens to fall during the United Nations' 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer, created to recognize the essential work women do across agriculture and food businesses, much of which goes unseen.

I did not start Hambly Lavender Farm because I wanted to make a statement about women in agriculture. I was trying to make the next smart decision for our land and our family. But I know how much work women do on farms and behind farm businesses that is easy to overlook. I am proud to be part of that story from our little corner of San Miguel.

The Anniversary Dinner

On October 24, Milton and I will host a dinner on the farm for family and friends who rolled up their sleeves with us, partners who believed in what we were building, and special customers who supported us along the way. We wanted to celebrate around a table with the people who helped make this place real.

The Seventh Is on Us

We also wanted a way to celebrate with everyone, so we picked one of our most useful little products. From October 7 through 13, buy six Lavender Beeswax Lip Balms and get the seventh free. That is seven 0.5 oz tins for $42 instead of $49, a $7 savings for our seventh year.

Each tin is made with local olive oil and beeswax, shea butter, and lavender essential oil distilled right here on our San Miguel farm. It goes on smooth without feeling waxy and leaves lips soft with a light, clean lavender scent. Keep a few close and share the rest.

If you already love it, this is a good time to stock up. If you have never tried it, I would love for this to be your introduction to something grown and made here on the farm.

Thank You for Growing With Us

Milton and I have worked hard, but we did not build Hambly Lavender Farm alone. Whether you bought something from one of our early pop-up tables, asked when you could come visit, walked the rows, shared the farm with a friend, or sent a Hambly gift to someone you love, you helped us get here.

Thank you for rooting for us. We feel it, and we do not take it for granted.

Seven years ago, we had 200 plants and a question. Today, we have nearly 5,000 plants and a community. What a ride.

With love and gratitude,
Gina