Location

New Mexican Lavender* is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, one mile north of Route 70 near the Rio Grande.

Al and I built our home here with a view of the Organ Mountains out our East facing windows and a view of Picacho Hills out to the West. The farmers in our part of Las Cruces call our area "the Upper Valley". It is a very fertile valley, nourished by the spring floods of the Rio Grande over thousands of years. Native Americans farmed the Three Sisters (beans, squash and corn) in this valley for centuries. They were here when the Spanish arrived over 500 years ago.

This was the first part of the continental United States colonized by Europeans. The Spanish established their New Mexican capital in Santa Fe, now the capital of the state. Las Cruces was on the Camino Real, which went between Mexico City, Mexico, all the way up to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Depending on the story you read, Las Cruces, which translates to "the crosses", was named either to commemorate cemetery crosses placed on early explorer's graves or meaning the crossing of Camino Real over the Rio Grande.

Our neighbors still farm large acreage; growing lettuce, cabbage, peppers, cotton and onions. Others have orchards of pecans. The flow of the Rio Grande has long since been controlled by a large dam in Elephant Butte. This sun-filled valley with rich soil is ideal for lavender, a crop requiring excellent drainage and soil with a PH of 7.0. We grow our lavender in raised beds and use flood irrigation, as the native people did and as our farming neighbors still do. Lavender doesn't require great amounts of water, which is a valuable resource here in arid New Mexico.

Our lavender field, dedicated to the Patron Saint of Farmers, San Ysidro, was established four years ago. Our plants, mostly LavendulaXintermedia "Grosso", have reached production age and will, this year with conditions willing, yield a bountiful crop. We have received help and encouragement from New Mexico State University, New Mexico Extension Service, and neighboring farmers.

You are all invited to visit our farm during the farming year, May through September. Watch for the announcement of Farm Vacations later this Spring. We will be welcoming guests to stay with us and join in the activities on our lavender farm. You may help weed, harvest, make wreaths, bake cookies, or make lavender jams. You will enjoy three wonderful Joan-cooked meals each day and will have free time to enjoy Las Cruces and Old Mesilla. We will be able to accommodate two guests at a time, sharing a 2-twin bed room with a private bath.


*Formerly known as San Ysidro Lavender