Scent of Heaven: People are catching a whiff of Newcastle family's lavender farm

Cathy and Mike Stanphill, married for 51 years, found the perfect piece of land to share with their family. Then, they found their choice plant to grow on the property. Today, they have their own little scent of Heaven. Cathy Stanphill and daughter-in-law Rebecca Stanphill are partners in Newcastle Lavender Farms, but the whole family is raising this baby, including the grandchildren. And all can admire the beauty of their 1,200 plants from the three homes on the 10-acre property. Rebecca is married to the Stanphills' son Jon, and daughter Anissa is married to Chris Hennion. It's not easy. Rebecca described it as a "hands-on family affair" that's "labor intensive" and includes harvesting, de-budding, watering, checking the drip system and other manual labor. And they love it. "It is a great family venture, using our property to bring the joy of lavender to others," says Rebecca, a teacher at Harvest Ridge Charter School in Newcastle. "It's an opportunity to escape in our own backyard. We have a large family, and we love to work together." Any mild breeze will push the pleasant lavender scent right under the nose. It has also, let's just say, caught wind in the Auburn area. Newcastle Lavender Farms is becoming a popular destination, for more than just the lavender, though June really is the time of year for the plant. "The power of social media," Rebecca says as bees and even a dragonfly enjoy the colorful lavender. "Facebook has been incredible." Under "Things to do in Auburn" on Facebook, "We pop up," Cathy says. Professional photographers prefer the rows of lavender as a setting for portraits of families, kids, including one shoot for a 16th birthday, and even pets. Said one recent Facebook post: "We had the best day there and was topped off by meeting you all!!! Can't thank you enough by opening up and sharing your sacred space with us!" June is the flowering season for lavender, and the farm is hosting two more U-Pick weekends. Lavender is available only through the first week of July. Lavender lovers can drive out to the farm, pay a $5 fee to enter, and the first bundle – thick enough to wrap your hand around – is free for each paid entry. And this year, there is much more. After starting with 2-inch baby plants in 2016, the Stanphill family is enjoying its "first real year to make our product from last year's harvest," according to Cathy. She and Rebecca recently attended their first Gold Country Farmers Market. The essential oil from lavender – known as liquid gold – goes into linen spray, body butter, hand lotion, bath soap, cosmetics and much more. Newcastle Lavender Farms has its oil distilled in Dixon at another farm. In July, they'll harvest the rest of the field for oil production. One-hundred twenty plants will yield a half gallon of oil and 7 gallons of hydrosol. Oil rollers, hydrosol, linen spray and other products are sold on the farm on U-Pick days. Cathy and Rebecca said they hope to open an online store. "You smell it, bathe in it, use it as facial mist, use it for pet beds, toner, sunburn spray, moisturizer," Cathy says, listing some of the oil's many uses. Before choosing lavender, the family researched vineyards, "But I'm not a wine drinker," Cathy says, and the area already has "so many" mandarin farms. They found lavender on Pinterest. "I had one of those, 'Oh-my-gosh, lavender,' " she says of the moment. The family did its "due diligence," Cathy says, and traveled to Sequim (pronounced SKWIMM), Wash., the lavender capital of the United States. They learned lavender is drought tolerant, and deer won't eat it. "Probably because of the strong, potent smell. They eat everything else," Cathy says, adding lavender is on the ground. "And I'm too old to climb ladders. No ladders."