I can't believe it's been over a year since I've written a blog post!

First goal for 2023 will be to blog more often!  It just seems that there is always so much going on, it's hard to get the time, but I will make it happen.  We have made some decisions about our business going forward, and hopefully this will be the year to get us over the next hill and onto our next adventure.   

We are planning to keep adding to our lavender fields, bringing in more varieties with different colors, scents and tastes.  We plan to only grow culinary lavender, because more and more people are experimenting with it and finding out they love the taste!  It's just so unique and so versatile.  What other herb makes wonderful tea, meat rubs, perfumes, soaps and ice cream?

  Speaking of lavender ice cream, the 402 Creamery in Lincoln used our lavender to make their "Livin' Lavish" this January, a lavender ice cream with pieces of honeycomb and OMG was it amazing!!  Of course, all 402 Creamery ice creams are amazing, but I gotta say, this one was extra special!  

 

We have also been so happy to be featured at Paper Moon Pastries in Cortland, NE.  They are right down the highway a few miles and make THE most amazing cookies, pies, kolaches, and other baked goods in the world!  They are selling our tea blends in their shop and using Sleepy Bees lavender buds in their delicious lavender cold brew coffee that is better than we can make at home!  We love getting to work with Lindsey Oelling (the owner).  She is all about small town business, and has done so much to get exciting things going in Cortland like a fall festival and chili cook off and bringing back the Cortland Museum.

Sleepy Bees also keeps NGC ( a local construction company) stocked with Farmer Jim's "Heeling" Balm and we have several contracts in the works with other stores and gift shops around the area.

We have been so lucky to partner with some other small, local businesses lately and it makes our hearts happy to be able to work together with these amazing people.  Folks are so supportive of entrepreneurs  in our area, it really is wonderful.  I know it is so easy to just pick up everything you need in one location, but the quality and service you get with small businesses makes purchasing from us so rewarding because we are honestly grateful for your purchases!

So, what's in store for Sleepy Bees Lavender Farm in 2023?  

We are very focused this year on expanding our sales so we are able to expand our property in 2024 to include new and exciting things!   We will be attending all the shows that we have done in the past, such as Junkstock and A Spring Festival, An Arts and Crafts Affair and of course the Sunday Farmers Market at College View in Lincoln. Quite a few people have suggested the downtown Lincoln Farmers Market might be a good fit for us, so that is something that we will be looking into, and there are events in Hickman, Arlington and Cortland already on our schedule for this year as well as Lincoln.  Sleepy Bees will be having our guided farm tours again this year when the fields are blooming, and we hope to add some other fun things here at the farm.  Please keep an eye on our website calendar for everything we have coming up!  The link is now on the picture of Jerry and a couple of our grandkids on the tractor. 

2023 will also be big for our pollinator and herb gardens.  We will be filling them in, adding new herbs and flowers, walking paths through the gardens and hopefully attracting all kinds of gorgeous butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and any other pollinators we can get!  

Our dream is to be able to grow enough in 2023 that we can begin the process of adding a building in 2024.  This building will have a commercial kitchen so that we can expand our product line.  We will have a shop that will be open full time there.  There will be areas for a still and equipment.  The rest of the building and two patio areas will be for wedding receptions, meetings, etc., and we will offer one of the lavender fields for wedding ceremonies.  We will be keeping the decor rustic and farm themed so that everything here works together. The building will also include an apartment for the wedding couple with views of our spectacular sunrises and sunsets over the lavender.  

Stay tuned for updates, and please keep following us!  We appreciate each and every one of you.  Without your support, we wouldn't even be able to dream about these next steps!  

PS- Due to numerous requests, I am putting together some recipes for the next blog post.  There are so many, but I will put some of the ones we have personally tried here on the blog so you can try them too!