Lorna Bulwan loves lavender. She uses her business, La Plata Lavender, to share the plant with the community.
“La Plata Lavender is the outcome of (my) desire to take the land I have to care for and do something beautiful with it,” she said.
Bulwan said she is a school psychologist by training and loves lavender’s calming effects.
“Anxiety reduction, reduced depression … those are just some of the neurological effects, but there’s so many more things you can do with it,” she said.
In addition to growing and harvesting the lavender, Bulwan also distills it into oil and hydrosol. With these, she makes and sells lavender soap, lotion, mists, bath salts, salt scrub, salves, lip balm, household cleaners and candles.
She also sells culinary lavender, infused honey, fire sticks, hand-embroidered sachets and pleasant-smelling plush animals stuffed with lavender buds.
“There’s always something else; there’s always something new,” Bulwan said.
Anyone interested in seeing the lavender where it grows is in luck: Bulwan is hosting a U-Pick event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 13 at her property at 5597 CR 516, just south of Bayfield. For $15, attendees can come to the farm, cut their own bundle and spend the day hanging out in the field, she said.
Bulwan grows more than 16 lavender cultivars, with a variety of stem lengths and colors that people can blend to make their own designs, she said.
From 5 to 8 p.m. on the same day, La Plata Lavender and Photo Divine will be hosting portrait sessions at the farm. The $150 fee includes a 45-minute photo session and a U-pick lavender bouquet, and reservations are required.
La Plata Lavender can be reached at 749-1599, and Photo Divine can be reached at 769-1212.
ngonzales@durangoherald.com
