First there is the planting. They do not use seeds, as they do not grow true-to-type. They "clone" their "babies" from older lavender plants. They have the varieties Grosso, Hidcote, Melissa, Edelweiss, and Gros Bleu. The quantity of lime in the soil, the climate, and their high altitude all contribute to the finest type of lavender.

Then there is irrigating and weeding (and weeding and weeding) that they and their field workers do entirely by hand as they use NO chemicals on their fields. At harvest time, they use sickles to cut most of the lavender at bud stage because the plants have the highest oil content just as they are beginning to bloom. Then they bundle the lavender and hang it to dry. And twice a year, in very early spring and late fall, Bryan trims the lavender bushes into the famililar hedge-hog shape.

The next step is distilling the lavender buds to acquire the lavender essential oil that they use in almost all of their products. For this Bryan uses a huge copper still they purchased from Portugal. This is quite a lengthy process. On display in their Boutique is a very small version of the copper still -- which they can also use to distill other plants such as mint, rose, or lemon balm. 

And now to their large commercial kitchen, where Cindy and her staff work their magic. UPS and FedEx make a steady stream to their back door, delivering all the natural, organic ingredients they use in the manufacture of the soaps, powders, creams, lotions, candles, and all else they sell, and of course all the containers they use for their products. Cindy and staff also design, print, and affix the labels to all the containers. And they also make, package, and label lavender products for two other lavender farms in Arizona. 

In addition to bottling and packaging everything and greeting customers in the Boutique, they handle all online orders and get them to the Heber post office for prompt mailing. They select various combinations of highly desired products and wrap them as attractive gifts for the convenience of their customers. So to find unique Christmas presents for your family and friends, stop in at the Windy Hills Lavender Farm boutique in Heber, see their products at Gilbert Ortega's in downtown Scottsdale, or visit their website WHLAV.com.