Lavender brings sweet smell of success to county farm

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

BEAVER TWP. - The smell coming from one farm in Beaver Township is the sweet smell of success. The smell is lavender, not the typical odor from most Clarion County farms.
After careers in higher education and consulting, the establishment and operation of LavenderGreen Farm near Knox by Chris and Jenna (Crooks) Gemmell presented some challenges.
"It was actually the brainchild of my wife who, during our years in Boston, Mass., discovered and fell in love with lavender," said Gemmell. "At that time we had several plants on the front stoop of our townhouse. That passion grew forth into the late 1980s when my wife purchased her maternal grandmother's farm in Knox
"She decided within a few years that she would like to change course from her grandparent's primary focus of raising beef cattle, hens, donkeys and drilling for oil to one of developing an organic farm that was principally lavender based."

For the complete story, see the Feb. 1 issue of The Leader-Vindicator.