A note from the founder · Lila Avery-Fuson
Lavender Growers Month: Why This One Means So Much to Me
Every June 15th, something quiet and wonderful happens all across the country. The fields come into bloom, the distillers fire up their stills, and lavender growers from coast to coast mark the start of US Lavender Growers Month — a nationwide celebration of American-grown lavender that runs through July 15th.
This year is USLGA’s inaugural month-long celebration — Fields in Bloom, Stories in Lavender — spotlighting the farms behind the bloom, from coast to coast. And I’ll be honest with you: being part of it moves me more than I expected.
When I helped found the United States Lavender Growers Association and served as one of its Founding Vice Presidents, American lavender was still a small, scrappy, beautiful movement. A handful of us believed in it. We planted, we distilled, we taught, we showed up at markets and festivals, and we mentored anyone who wanted to learn. To watch our little industry grow into a nationwide celebration now — after nearly twenty years — feels like watching something you planted finally bloom.
I’ve been part of this from the early rows. I founded the Central Coast Lavender Growers Association, founded the Central Coast Lavender Festival back in 2009, and have mentored more than three dozen lavender farms across the country. Lavender didn’t just carry me through a hard season — it shaped my whole life. And helping build its American industry has become my legacy.
So this month, I’m celebrating. Not just my farm, but every grower out there doing this honest, slow, rooted work.
How you can celebrate with us
Now through July 15th, growers all over the country are sharing their fields, their products, and their stories. Follow along with #USLavenderGrowersMonth and #FieldsInBloom, tag @uslavender, and if you have a favorite local lavender farm — go say hello to them this month.
And if you’d like to bring a little of our season home, this is the moment. Every bottle is a single season’s vintage — grown, distilled, and rested right here on our estate. Come stand in the season with us.
Look for the little blue bottle 💙
From my hands and my heart,
Lila
