Lavender Lori Parr’s Lavender Farming: Secrets from a Hard Row Hoed (2019) is a book that instructs farming know-how (through her humorous voice) while also reflecting on the life of one tough lady. One-part memoir, one-part how-to manual for anyone interested in farming lavender in the Intermountain West (either in the backyard garden, as a sharecropper, or as a full-flung, land-owning, large-scale farmer), Lavender Farming is a beautiful book full of colorful photos and personal lessons-learned.

I have known Lavender Lori, as all her friends know her, for well over a decade; I’ve watched her grow lavender, helped her harvest plants, witnessed the desolation that harsh Montana weather can have on a farmer, seen her start again (both in her personal and farming lives), and had the honor of helping her hone her writing to share her story and her know-how with other budding (see what I did there?) lavender enthusiasts. Lavender Farming is a beautiful testament to a woman who has worked hard all her life and has plenty of wisdom to share, plus it is both entertaining and informative. Readers will walk away from Lavender Farming knowing far more about the lavender plant, and how to cultivate it, than they had previously considered possible.

As a copy editor, I watched this book go from draft manuscript to beautiful printed book, a process that is slow and tedious for the writer, but glorious and inspiring to view from the outside. Lavender Lori’s Lavender Farming is full of lovely hand-drawn illustrations, photographs, and diagrams. It also includes chapters on the making a farm plan, lavender’s botany and cultivation, the history of lavender and one on crafting and cooking with the herb (among other things). Truly, this a book that should sit on any gardener, lavender-lover, or aspiring farmer’s shelf. The planning and guided approaches Lavender Lori lays out herein are not to be found else where are applicable to farmers in any location. Essentially, Lavender Lori wrote the book that didn’t exist when she started out so that farmers today don’t have to make all the trial-and-error-approach mistakes she did. These are her “Secrets from a Hard Row Hoed.”

Beyond all the farming tips and wisdom included in Lavender Farming, is Lori’s heartfelt reflection on her adult life, and the way she shares her highs and lows with the reader. The memoir elements of this book don’t feel forced or out of place because lavender was the balm that got Lori through her hard times, and farming was the work with which she filled her days even when life dealt a tricky hand.

Lavender Lori lives off the grid in a tiny cabin nestled in Montana’s Mission Valley (just north of Missoula). Her life at Rosalie Ranch is inspiring, as is the way she interacts with the earth, farming, and the roller coaster that is life. I encourage you to consider ordering a copy of Lavender Lori’s lovely book directly from her and supporting a woman whose farm and products make the world more beautiful (email her: Lavenderlori11@gmail.com). This book would make a beautiful holiday gift for any lavender-lover on your list. What’s more, Missoula’s Fact and Fiction Bookstore is hosting a book signing TODAY (Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 7pm).