Jeannie Miller grows nine varieties of lavender at Midfield Lavender Farm in Bulls Gap; Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

In 2015, the year after Brian and Jeannie Miller bought Midfield Lavender Farm, their 46-acre Tennessee lavender farm in Bulls Gap, as a family gathering spot halfway between their house in Kingsport and their parents’ homes in Jefferson County, Jeannie started looking for some sort of crop they could grow on the sprawling property.

“We didn’t live here at the time, so I didn’t want animals,” she says. “And I’m not very good with vegetable gardens. I just researched flowers and landed on lavender. It was a crop that not that many people in the area grew, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

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Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Sweet Smell of Success

Miller started with about 300 plants, but half of them died that first season. She’s not sure why.

“Once we found their happy place, they’ve pretty much thrived,” she says. “And I finally have the pretty rows that you think of when you think of lavender fields.”

Midfield Lavender Farm is now home to about 1,000 plants in nine varieties that bloom on a total of 2 acres from early May through mid-June.

In addition to dried lavender bundles, Midfield Lavender offers sachets, eye pillows, sprays and more. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

See more: Find Farm-Fresh Lavender Products at MGM Lavender Farm

“You can smell it almost as soon as you get out of your car,” Miller says. “When they’re blooming, you can walk through and rub your hands on the plants, and you’ll get the whiff of the lavender.”

The early bloomers are typically used for cooking. Some are sweet, and some are savory. “It doesn’t hurt to eat any lavender, but some varieties taste better than others,” she points out. Grosso, the farm’s primary variety, grows extremely well in East Tennessee, but Miller’s personal favorite is Riverina Thomas, with stems and blooms that are larger than Sensational, Hidcote and the rest.

To Miller’s delight, the farm, where some surfaces are dry, rocky shale, has turned out to be the perfect place to grow lavender.

“The funny part is it grows the best in the absolute worst soil on the farm,” she says, noting that the herb needs good drainage. “They always say lavender doesn’t like to have its feet wet. Most people overwater. For me, I don’t even need to irrigate.”

Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Lush Lavender Harvest

To share the fruits of her labor, Miller makes sachets, neck wraps and eye pillows under the Midfield Lavender Farm label, painstakingly crafting each one herself. The wraps and pillows also contain flaxseed and can be heated in the microwave to soothe sore muscles or chilled to relieve undereye puffiness and headaches. She also sells bundles of lavender, which are dried year round and freshly cut when it’s in season for customers to use in their own bouquets, wreaths and arrangements. Many swear by the calming effect.

“Most people just want it to relax or help them go to sleep,” Miller says.

She sometimes carries soaps and sprays created by other herbal entrepreneurs. The self-proclaimed “crafty” farmer offers her wares on the farm’s website and at local and regional markets and consignment boutiques, including Baileyton Antique Mall in Greeneville, Yoder’s Country Market in Bulls Gap, Troyer’s Mountain View Country Market in Limestone, Made in Tennessee shops in Nashville, Market Grove at West Town Mall in Knoxville, Kingsport Farmers Market and Abingdon Gifting Company. A longtime graphic designer who still creates logos and other print materials part time, Miller is also available for custom lavender projects and sells wholesale to qualified buyers. She is a regular vendor at the annual Jackson Square Lavender Festival in Oak Ridge and is currently gearing up for this year’s event, which takes place on June 15.

See more: Find Beautiful Blooms at These Tennessee Flower Farms

Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Lavender Fields Forever

Lavender isn’t the only thing that flourishes on the couple’s farm.

“We have a lot of family get-togethers here,” says Miller, who officially moved with her spouse to the site in the Appalachian Highlands in the summer of 2023. “The farm started off with a small cabin and has evolved into a larger home with plenty of room to gather.”

This June, for the first time since Miller started planting lavender, the farm will open for a 10-day U-pick event.

“We feel like we finally have enough beautiful lavender that we’re going to share it with the public,” Miller says.