A bonus stop on this year’s Nebraska Passport is Our Lavender Co., located just four miles south of the Big Springs exit on Interstate 80 and a few minutes from the Colorado border. Our Lavender Co.
was created in 2019 by Stephanie Anderson, her sister Nicole Palser and her mother Peggy Palser. After the birth of her second child, Anderson suffered from severe post-partum depression. She had always wanted to start a garden, and with her family’s help, they turned an old camper into a greenhouse.
Where: 20380 County Road 4, Big Springs, 4 miles south of I-80. Hours: May-September: Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m.
-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10-4 p.
m. Offseason by appointment. Phone: 507-298-1812 “This little camper, and growing plants, and putting my hands in soil was the place where I found healing,” Anderson said.
“And God used agriculture — this thing that I wanted so desperately to escape in western Nebraska — to save my life.” While visiting Minneapolis, Anderson’s mother-in-law had told her about an article on a lavender farm in Sequim, Washington. After doing more research on lavender, Anderson and her mother and sister, Peggy and Nicole, decided to fly out to Sequim and learn about growing lavender.
“It was fun collaborating, or just getting together with my girls and just dreaming, you know,” said Peggy Palser. The farm — which sits on five acres of their multi-generational corn operation — boasts 18 different varieties of lavender and is home to 7,500 lavender plants. They offer tours of the farm with knowledgeable lavender guides who teach about the care of the plant, harvesting and all of lavender’s uses.
During peak season, people can pick their own lavender and garden flowers to create a unique bouquet. They also have a small store with an assortment of lavender goods and gifts, most made directly on the farm. From self-care products to soaps to gardening tools, there is something for everyone.
Products can also be shipped nationwide through the online store at ourlavenderco.com . So far, they have had people visit from all 50 states and nine different countries and are excited about the future.
“We’ve not yet had a lavender festival, but that is one thing that we want to have on the farm is the lavender festival, and I think that’s going to be in the near future,” Palser said. They also hope to increase awareness of cultivating lavender growing in Nebraska and bring more light to agricultural research about lavender. “There’s a lot of people that are making self-care lavender products.
And there are people that are growing, almost hobby farm lavender farms,” Anderson said. “Our goal is to kind of bridge that agricultural gap in showing the scalability of lavender farming, and connecting the lavender growers with the lavender users.” Their summer hours are Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.
m.-5 p.m.
, with the best time to see the field in full bloom being July and August. Visiting during other hours is possible by reservation. They are also partnered with Harvest Hosts to give visitors with RVs the opportunity to stay overnight on the farm.
“The story of how we started a farm out of the darkest season of my life, that link of hope in a dark place, is something that a lot of people resonate with,” Anderson said. “And to know that one in seven women experienced that, but still I felt so alone is something that I don’t want for anybody.” After starting the farm, Nicole Palser encouraged Anderson to share her story with visitors in person and on their website.
“It wasn’t until I started sharing the story of where it all began, that we actually started seeing a lot of traction as a business. Not that it’s used in any way, shape or form as a marketing tool,” Anderson said. “But that resonation of hope from a dark place, beauty from the ashes.
It inspires, its inspiring and I feel like dreams inspire dreams, hope inspires hope.” The E-edition is available to you every morning, and is updated throughout the day Captured using a double exposure, state senators register their votes with red and green lights during a motion to end debate. Fierce opposition from a bipartisan group of lawmakers to Gov.
Jim Pillen's tax plan kept the Legislature from ever voting directly on the proposal on Tuesday. Scott Middle School sixth grade teacher Eric Nelson tries to catch cheeseballs on a shower cap covered in shaving cream during an end-of-the-day pep rally at Scott Middle School on Monday. The goal was to catch as many cheeseballs with your head while they were thrown by a student partner.
Tae'veon Coleman, 7, (left) waits to cast his line as the sun sets during a Community Lake day hosted by Big Gumdrop Outdoors at Oak Lake Park on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Lincoln. Big Gumdrop Outdoors, is ,a nonprofit created by Elijah Riley, a Lincoln native and UNL student, to help kids connect with nature and play outside.
Travis Ruel and Alanna White, 9, of Lincoln, interact with Patches, a 1-year-old Catahoula dog, through the glass of her kennel at the Pieloch Pet Adoption Center on Friday. Patches has been at the shelter since June 19. The Capital Humane Society is offering a "Full House" promotion where adoption fees for all dogs are reduced to $100 until Sunday because the shelter is nearly full.
Framed through the grate of a fire pit, Olivia Dagget-Keagle, 9, blows out the fire on her blackened marshmallow during a Community Lake day hosted by Big Gumdrop Outdoors at Oak Lake Park on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Lincoln. Big Gumdrop Outdoors, is ,a nonprofit created by Elijah Riley, a Lincoln native and UNL student, to help kids connect with nature and play outside.
Nebraska's Bergen Reilly hits a ball next to teammate Andi Jackson during a team practice, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the Devaney Sports Center. A bicyclist rides along the Billy Wolff Trail near the Union Plaza Amphitheater on Wednesday.
After 13 straight days of highs of 90 degrees or above, including 100 on Monday, a cool front brought relief to Lincoln, with a high of only 75 on Tuesday. Wednesday's high, which reached into the upper 80s, will likely be the warmest for several days. The National Weather Service forecasts highs in the 70s to around 80 through the weekend, about 10 degrees below normal for this time of year.
Jordan Jones, 6, and her brother Sincere, 7, (from left) react while riding the Super Drop ride at the Heart of America Carnival during the Lancaster County Super Fair at the Sandhills Global Event Center on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Lincoln. Todd Heiser of Lincoln makes one of five trips of the day to drop off tree debris at a collection site at Holmes Lake Park on Monday.
J.J. Yost, assistant director of Parks and Recreation, said the debris drop-off site at Holmes Lake has been one of the busiest — and it's also one of the smallest.
The city has brought equipment to all the drop-off sites to consolidate tree debris. At Holmes Lake, workers also used a grinder to further process debris. Yost said the city is encouraging residents to use other sites, which include Seng Park (south of the ballfields); Woods Park (south lot off of J Street); Oak Lake Park (main lot off of Charleston Street); and Hofeling Enterprises, 2200 South Folsom Court.
City parks sites will accept debris until Aug. 19. Nowear BMX's Sam Bussell (top right) performs a trick on his bike during a performance at the Sandhills Global Event Center on Saturday.
Wilber native David Rogers, 10 (first right) holds his cousin William Mays, 3, as they dance during the 63rd annual Wilber Czech Festival held in Downtown Wilber on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. A wild horse jumps onto its back as it tries to throw off a rope held by Troy Graybill (from front) Chris Hajek, and Scott Graves as they try to saddle it during the wild horse race a during the final day of Nebraska's Big Rodeo at the Garfield County Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Burwell.
Nebraska Capitol groundskeepers Lexis Funk (left) and Heather Dinslage collect fallen tree branches Thursday in Lincoln. JC Brager's Sawyer Bokowski (left) fields a ball as Papillion-La Vista South's Derek Geist runs to third base during the second inning of a National division Class A Legion baseball tournament game against on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at Den Hartog Field. Harry Tompkin, owner of Palace Glass Co.
, hands off a piece of stained glass to Kelly Mathes (from left) as they sort through inventory on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Lincoln. After 43 years of creating stained glass, Harry Tompkin plans to close his shop by September. Most of the remaining pieces are rejuvenation projects or those that were planned before his decision to close.
Burwell's Keelin Swett, 12, blows a bubble with her gum while waiting in the staging area behind the chutes during the final day of Nebraska's Big Rodeo at the Garfield County Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Burwell. New teachers gather for the Lincoln Public Schools New Educator Kickoff on Monday at Southwest High School. Bob Swanson uses a chainsaw to clean up large fallen branches after a storm pummeled the city Wednesday in Lincoln.
Quade Peterson of Litchfield is dragged underneath a wild horse while attempting to saddle it in the wild horse race competition during the final day of Nebraska's Big Rodeo at the Garfield County Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Burwell. Akroyd Darkgrove, played by Shade Ingraham (left), has popcorn thrown at him by Jacob Parman, 7, of Fargo, North Dakota, during a performance of "Phantom of Darkgrove" at the Denman and Mary Mallory Kountze Memorial Theatre at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park in July.
Audience interaction is a big part of what makes the melodramas at the park special, crew members said. The crowd is encouraged to respond vocally to musical cues throughout the play and throw popcorn at the villain. Noah Wong, 7, unzips backpacks for the assembly line to place school supplies inside it during Spreetail's annual Back(Pack) to School Event on Friday.
Nebraska Volleyball head coach John Cook poses for a photo in front of the chutes before the Grand Entry on the final day of Nebraska's Big Rodeo at the Garfield County Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Burwell. Matt Rhule (center) leads a group of participants inside to cool off during his "She's Got Game" girls football camp on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Nazar Durzhynskyi, 9, focuses on keeping the ball off the ground using his racket while participating in a practice drill during a tennis camp held for Ukrainian children at Woods Tennis Center on Thursday.
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