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Lavender Hills of Kentucky, LLC

Delight your senses with the essence of lavender

Fragrant Farmland — Cincinnati Enquirer

Author:  Jenny Callison

Sweet experience awaits visitors at Lavender Hills

For a day trip destination with an aroma to match its ambience, Lavender Hills of Kentucky is worth a visit.

Right now, there’s one lovely lavender field, spread over a sunny hillside on Charles and Judith Brothers’ farm near Brooksville.  Judy and her daughter, Denise Scaringi, are partners in this venture, and they have plans to add more fields, varieties and products from lavender.

A visit begins in the field, home to several hundred Grosso lavender plants that were planted in June 2005.

“We planted only the Grosso variety because it’s hight in oil and the flowers are on long stems, so it’s good to make our products,”  Brothers says.

Early buds — and some plants as well — were lost to this year’s late freeze.  That setback made the beds less showy, but in mid-June when we visited, many of the lovely long stalks were capped with burgeoning buds.  When you brush against the plant or rub your fingers lightly over the flowers, the plant releases its heady aroma.

The entire Brothers clan, including several grandchildren, will help harvest the lavender when it’s mature.  Last year’s inaugural harvest yielded 750 bundles of lavender, which Brothers and Scaringi bound and hung upside down in a special shed to dry.  Visitors can check out the process.

This year, Lavender Hills added a small you-pick bed offering a variety of lavender plants:  one with silver-edged leaves, others with yellow, pink, or white blossoms.  Brothers said that lavender from that bed will be available next summer.

Available now are all kinds of lavender treats, from sachets to pottery, in a small gift shop.  We purchased a bag of buds, available by the cup, to use in making our own sachets.

I was intrigued by the recipes, which come on cards with the requisite amount of lavender buds attached.  That evening I tried the lavender chicken with great success.

The Brothers’ farm is charming, tucked amid the gently rolling landscape of rural northern Kentucky.  The family is happy to show off its herd of cows to visitors.  We got to pet the newest addition, a two-month old that tolerated our attention, though he clearly missed his mother.

Combine a trip to Lavender Hills with lunch or dinner in nearby Augusta or Maysville for a satisfying day’s adventure that’s only an hour or so from Cincinnati.