The story of Welsh Lavender begins in 2003 but in some ways long before. It is a story about a project created by two Canadians who live in Maesmynis Valley in mid Wales and who think there is no better place in the world. They are a journalist, Nancy Durham and an Oxford philosopher of science, Bill Newton-Smith.

For years they had looked out over the fields and ancient hedgerows in their idyllic valley and thought what, besides sheep, could thrive here?

One fine evening in the spring of 2003, chatting with their friends and neighbours, Baden and Betty Powell, Nancy casually mentioned she’d like to plant some lavender. She had in mind a modest hedge like the 20 foot one outside their kitchen window at Holywell Manor in Oxford where she and Bill had lived through the nineties while he ran Balliol College’s graduate centre.

The conversation moved on and nothing more was said until some weeks later when Baden reported back. An agency called Glasu* (“to green” in Welsh) – a rural development partnership – wanted to help farmers diversify. Maybe, Baden speculated, a field of lavender would qualify.

A field of lavender? Nancy’s first reaction was sceptical and furthermore she was not (yet) a farmer. In any case, she doubted lavender could survive on a field scale at 1100 feet on their rainy windswept Welsh hilltop. What she had yet to learn was that lavender thrives at altitude (some say the best oils are produced from high ground) and furthermore lavender’s most essential need is good drainage. Their dramatically sloping fields would look after that.

Encouragingly, the farmers of Maesmynis Valley were confident it would grow in the rich red earth. Their only question was “who will buy it”? Nancy thought she knew. Lavender was making a comeback. It was losing its old fashioned image.  Others knew its benefits. Lavender’s fresh, wild scent is appealing to people of all ages and the plant’s healing and calming powers are now well documented. Purple was in style again.

So in 2003, with the help of a modest Glasu grant, Nancy and Bill became the first in Wales to grow lavender on a field scale. When they saw their lavender flourish in conditions very different from sunny Provence they explored the possibility of making lavender oil. They experimented with a small prototype still. It was a success and the tiny amount of oil they produced was enough for Helen Lowe, who makes the creams, to try it in the first Ruby Lafant samples.

The results were sensational and in the summer of 2010 they invested in oil distillation equipment which is now in operation on the farm, making Nancy and Bill the first to distil lavender in Wales. They began with 2000 plants in 2003 and by the summer of 2010 they had reached 9,000. They plan to continue expanding on their 50 acre farm in the heart of Powys, mid Wales.

There are four varieties on the farm. Maillette and Grosso produce oil; Royal Purple and Imperial Gem do not and are grown for decorative purposes only. They make pretty bunches and their flowers can also be used to stuff cushions.

The lavender is hand harvested by Nancy, Bill and their team. Welsh Lavender’s soon to be launched line of creams is called Ruby Lafant: Ruby for the rich red earth the lavender grows in and Lafant is Welsh for lavender. Only Welsh Lavender oil and floral water (a by product of the distillation process) are used in the products and all ingredients are naturally derived. They’re being developed by Helen Lowe who began her career in cosmetics in the early nineties with the London herbalist, G Baldwin & Co. There she learned to make bespoke creams and lotions and found her passion for experimenting with cosmetic ingredients. Next, Helen moved to Wales and turned a stone barn into a studio where she continues to study, experiment and produce creams. When she was invited to collaborate with Nancy and Bill on the first line of Welsh Lavender creams she jumped at the chance. “They have fields of lavender and their own still. Making a full skin care range based on that was irresistible. Everyone else buys things in. We’ve put their lavender fields into a bottle. And every single ingredient I’ve added is beneficial.”

*Glasu’s projects are managed under the Powys Regeneration Partnership and Powys County Council, and receive funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-13, which is financed by the European Union and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The first run of Ruby Lafant products. Ruby is for our rich red earth. Lafant is Welsh for lavender.  (Ian Ramsay)

The red earth of Maesmynis Valley shows up everywhere including stonework. (Nancy Durham)

Nancy Durham harvesting Royal Purple. (Carl Ryan)

Royal Purple lavender variety hanging to dry. (Mari Owen)

Dried Grosso lavender. (Hilary Lowe)