Returning home to Michigan to spend some time with my mom this summer, I noticed a newspaper article she had clipped and tacked on the bulletin board next to her refrigerator. Written in June, the story Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood had published in the Grand Rapids Press featured Lavender Hill Farms in Boyne City. Inspired by the idea of an “Up North” adventure, we packed a picnic basket and set out on a rural road trip.

At the southern tip of picturesque Lake Charlevoix and west of Michigan’s beloved Leelanau peninsula, residents of Boyne City find themselves in a terrain suited to drought-resistant plants or roots that grow deep and determinedly towards the water table. Creating her own purple patch of lavender heaven, farm owner Linda Longworth has been adding to Lavender Hill Farms each year since she and her husband purchased the land on 07534 Horton Bay Road N in 2003.

With over 6500 lavender plants of 30 varieties, Longworth also keeps bees on the farm, processing and selling the honey at the end of the season at the quaint gift shop just to the north of the barn and neatly kept lavender fields. A sign reading, “bees at work,” reminds you to respectfully appreciate nature in harmony (Ackerman-Haywood explains that lavender acts as an antiviral and antibacterial agent for the bees).

A trip to Lavender Hill Farms can be as quick as popping by to purchase tea or essential oil or as long as you need to cut your own bunches of lavender from the fields. Open seasonally from June15 – September 15, the farm offers group events and tours (by appointment), classes (herbal skin care and making lavender wands and wreaths were offered this season), and special events like afternoon tea and book talks. Peaking  in late July, photographers should plan their color tours accordingly.

Accompanied by young children not as impressed (or immediately relaxed) by our destination, rope swings kept them outside while we admired the plants and other hand-made items in the gift shop. A lovely way to boost your immune system or keep your calm during traffic jams, keep some lavender oil handy in your glove box. If you can’t make it to Boyne City by September 15, place an order online and put Michigan on your road trip itinerary next year.