Our Story

Welcome to Pause Lavender Farm, a certified Michigan small-scale nursery in Rapid River on the Stonington Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Where It All Began

Long before lavender and the U.P. became part of my life, flowers and nature were.

My mom filled the area around our home with flowers. Show-stopping flowers - a love she inherited from her parents and still carries today. Because of her, plants have always been one of the ways I slow down and feel at home.  My parents worked hard and our vacations were usually to wild and natural places to disconnect, like International Falls. Those visits left a big impact on my appreciation for forests and the wonders within. 

But my career took me in a very different direction. I started in journalism in Chicago and in the early 1990s, became fascinated with the Internet and taught myself to code. I've spent much of my career working online in the private sector and for the federal government.

Along the way, lavender became a way to destress. I would research varieties, compare growing regions, study climate data, and imagine a lavender farm that did not exist yet.

Building Pause

Rapid River (Stonington Peninsula) was a place we visited regularly for 17 years before moving here. (It reminded us of our hometown before the population boom). Every drive back to Illinois became harder. Returning to Rapid River always felt like home. So we moved here! 

Buying this property and planting lavender were part of one deliberate change in how our family wanted to live. It was not a whim. 

I studied lavender and compared its growing requirements with Delta County’s climate, convinced that it could thrive here.

Now one of my favorite parts of the day is simply walking through the garden - the fragrance on the breeze, bees and butterflies moving through the blooms, and sometimes a small bird swaying on a lavender stem.

Another favorite is watching a curious fawn cautiously investigate the lavender, give it a sniff, and decide it is not worth eating. They may not like it, but we do. 

Lavender is remarkably calming. In fact, if you're stressed, get some dried lavender bouquets! I challenge you NOT to fall asleep after manually debudding them. It's an occupational challenge when you run a lavender farm.

Letting the Land Lead

When I first planted lavender, I wanted to keep expanding and become the largest lavender farm in the U.P. 

Then I started noticing all the reasons not to.

One clearing had become a deer bedding area. Another meadow was where fawns disappeared into the tall grass each spring. A sunny opening supported goldenseal, native wildflowers, bees, and butterflies.

I do not believe every acre has to earn money to have value.

Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do with a piece of land is leave it alone - or improve the habitat.

So instead of asking, “How much lavender can we fit here?” I began asking:

“Where can lavender belong here without taking away what already does?”

That question still guides the farm.

Today, our organically managed gardens exist alongside year-round wildlife habitat, native plants and pollinators, and a USDA-recognized pollinator garden.

Pause Lavender Farm is intentionally small. Success here is not measured by the number of rows we plant, but by the quality of what we grow and the landscape we leave behind.

Why the Name Pause Lavender Farm?

Lavender makes you pause - to take in its color, beauty, and fragrance. It has a way of making you slow down.

The name also has a meaning that is especially personal to us. PAUSE was created from the names of beloved pets, past and present:

Pippy · Adam · Uncas · Sam/Sassy · Emma/Ella