The Lavender Farmer

The simple and elegant flowers remind us to seek quiet beauty in life

There are many descriptive words for “paradise” in English, but for me it is Lavender. Have you ever driven past a valley on a warm Sunday morning in January, and all of a sudden a patch of purple appears somewhere in the close distance? The colour is so rich and pure and it draws out all my imagination. The purple colour creates peace and romance in the air, and I start to ask myself “is that a patch of heaven that dropped from God’s paradise?” I first had this enchanting experience when I was travelling in the Victorian countryside in 2006, where my dream began.

Ten years ago, I was an international student from Beijing, China, pursuing a Masters degree in Education at the University of Queensland. Australia was a foreign land to me at the time, but in a good way, as it is indeed a “free” land where I can express what I like and dislike without having to worry whether my view is consistent with everyone else’s. I was born in China in the 80’s, an era when freedom wasn’t commonly acknowledged in China and Western culture was only a very subtle and vague influence. I was an artistic child but my love of purple as a colour had to be buried deep in my heart to avoid being singled out from other children who all loved red and yellow, which are the
colours of the Chinese flag, indicating revolution, flames and brightness under Chairman Mao.

In contrast, purple was a colour representing peace, stillness and romance, which were not “trendy” words in China in the 1980s. When I came to Australia, my love of purple exploded. Not only was purple so available in merchandise, but I also discovered that the purple Jacaranda tree was the symbol of the University of Queensland. I didn’t believe that such a tree was possible! I felt spoilt to be able to love purple freely and call it my favourite colour, but it wasn’t until when I travelled to Victoria and stayed on a lavender farm during my holidays that I realised that lavender evoked my spirit and forever connected me to it. It was at that moment that I determined to pursue my dream for a Lavender Farm and Gallery in Australia.

Over the last ten years, I have been living and working in different places throughout Australia, from the east to the west. As a migrant I could only go with the flow, but the dream of a Lavender Farm and Gallery remained in my heart and never faded. I moved to Western Australia six years ago, becoming an Australian citizen and working as the International Student Advisor at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle. I also met my loving fiancé, Lachlan, and my dream has now become our dream and we are building our Lavender Farm and Gallery together.

Lachlan and I were engaged in 2013 and in the same year, we decided to move from inner-city Perth to the country and put our Lavender Farm plan into action. A year later, we settled in our home in Wooroloo in the Perth Hills. We are getting married on our farm in October which will be our lavender field and our purple paradise in coming years. The wedding preparations have become an opportunity for me to practise all my crafty skills and artistic techniques with lavender. Unsurprisingly, the theme of our wedding is “Lavender”!

I was taught from an early age in acrylic and oil painting with knowledge in textile and interior design. As a Chinese descendant, the passion for our forever earth and sky and the desire to create exquisiteness and perfection from nature’s offerings remain in my soul. Lavender adds wings to my creativity and makes my imagination fly. With my fiancée’s contribution in engineering technology and my instincts in utilising nature’s resources, our current plans include producing fresh and dried flowers, oils and cosmetics, natural dyes, painting, embroidery and wedding planning and decorating. We have lots of plans for the future, and lots of enjoyable work to get done!