From Seeds to Serenity

Terry, a political lawyer who once worked for former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Rick, a resort real estate broker, had successful careers when they started thinking about purchasing land near Pine and Strawberry. They liked the idea of rehabbing an old property and when the opportunity to own a homestead settled in 1890 by some of the first pioneers in the area, they jumped at the chance.

Initially, the 14-acre property bled money, according to Terry. So the couple decided to capitalize on the renovation losses by getting into the farming business to offset costs. Terry’s family owned a cattle ranch while growing up in Washington State, but neither knew much about growing lavender.

Undeterred, the Vescis did their research, visited lavender farms and found support, interestingly, from other lavender farm owners, including Windy Hills Lavender Farm in Heber-Overgaard. “Lavender folks are collegial rather than competitive,” Terry says. “They told us how to manage the fields, for example, so we didn’t have to figure out some things.”

Logistics also were in their favor to become viable lavender farmers. “We have really beautiful weather, a high altitude and a great climate,” she continues. “It’s a really forgiving crop. It’s easy to grow in the right conditions. Lavender made the most sense.”

The farm’s naturally certified lineup includes culinary items, and bath and skin care products, including seasonings, recipe mixes, candles, body scrubs and lotions made as simple as possible with pure ingredients. While all culinary products are developed on site, Pine Creek Canyon Lavender Farm enlists the help of Windy Hills Lavender Farm to formulate and package their essential oils.

Besides selling to whole sellers in the luxury market space, the farm’s high-end lavender products are sold at the onsite retail location, its online shop and at Queen Creek Olive Mill in Queen Creek.

The farm also runs a cooking school sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill in the original homestead kitchen, which has been renovated. The culinary classes are led by Terry, a master canner who has always had an interest in cooking and culinary arts. Students are taught the differences between lavender varieties, how to grow them and cook with lavender to create savory dishes and therapeutic oil combinations.

In addition, the couple celebrates their annual yield with a lavender harvest festival every July where 1,000 uncut bunches of fresh lavender are sold in front of their store.

While Pine Creek Canyon Lavender Farm started off small, it now welcomes 30,000 to 40,000 visitors per year. “Once it’s blue skies, it’s a pretty popular destination,” says Terry, who estimates they are the third largest lavender farm in the state and probably have the largest agrotourism stats in Arizona.

“We’ve hit the sweet spot,” she says of their lavender endeavor, which earned a National Historic Landmark distinction in 2020. “It’s fun to see what you can do with lavender. We produce quality products and have customers who want to buy them.”