THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2021 C7
Lavender farm near Klamath Falls
could help agritourism bloom
BY ALEX SCHWARTZ
(Klamath Falls) Herald and News
I
t’s hard to tell by looking at it this
time of year, but at the height of sum-
mer, Cliff and Diana Warrick’s yard
flushes with purple. As hundreds of lav-
ender shrubs bloom, an unmistakable
sweet, floral scent wafts down the dry
hillside.
With more than 650 lavender plants
spanning approximately an acre, the
Warrick’s farm is likely the largest lav-
ender-growing operation in the Upper
Klamath Basin. Perched on a south-fac-
ing ridge just north of Klamath Falls
proper, they can see Mt. Shasta while
strolling past rows of violet-tipped
bushes on a clear day.
“We thought this would be a beauti-
ful place to grow lavender,” said Diana
Warrick, a former event planner who
harvests the buds and flowers to extract
essential oil and produce lavender soaps,
lotions and other personal care products.
She’s been selling those items under the
label “K-Falls Essentials” at local busi-
nesses and farmers markets for the past
three years.
The Warricks bought their seven-acre
property five years ago and got to work
on the difficult task of making its rocky
soil suitable for growing. The Klamath
Basin’s Mediterranean climate — with its
hot, dry summers and wet, cool winters
— is ideal for the herb. The first laven-
der crop the couple planted is expected
to reach maturity this summer, and they
hope to quadruple the number of plants
on their land over the next two years.
As Diana got to know the community
through selling her lavender soaps and
potpourri, people kept wanting to expe-
rience the farm for themselves.
“The common question that we’ve
been hearing for years is, ‘When can we
come see it?’” she said.
They weren’t sure whether they
wanted to open up their property to visi-
tors, but given Southern Oregon’s lack of
lavender farms east of the Cascades, the
Warricks saw an opportunity. The near-
est such farm to Klamath Falls, at Mt.
Shasta, closed four years ago.
Few can find something to dislike
about lavender, and the vibrant, pleas-
ant-smelling crop is a tourism driver in
Eastern Oregon and the Willamette Val-
ley. Warrick pointed to other communi-
Lavender flowers
in bloom.
123RF
ties with walkable lavender farms, where
visitors stroll along rows of purple and
harvest cuttings themselves.
“It takes off like wildfire. It’ll put
your name on the map,” she said. “That
means Klamath Falls is going to be on
the map.”
If all goes according to plan, Warrick
envisions a pumpkin patch-style opera-
tion this summer, where the farm opens
up to visitors for a couple of weeks from
mid-July to early August when the lav-
ender bloom is at its peak. Guests will
carry baskets to harvest and eventually
purchase their own cuttings and can
have Instagram-worthy picnics among
the flowers. Customers can learn about
the different varieties of lavender that
K-Falls Essentials grows and take classes
on how to turn it into fragrant soaps and
lotions, or they can purchase pre-made
products at a small shop on the property.
“It’s a little outdoor break from every-
day life,” Warrick said.
Warrick said she thinks the farm’s lo-
cation just off Highway 97 will make
it popular with tourists visiting Crater
Lake and other local destinations. She
hopes K-Falls Essentials can become
part of the Southern Oregon Lavender
Trail, which includes several farms in the
Rogue Valley, bringing lavender enthu-
siasts over the pass to the Klamath Ba-
sin. If things go well, Warrick envisions
Klamath Falls’ first-ever lavender festi-
val, complete with live music and food
trucks.
The first hurdle in opening K-Falls Es-
sentials to the public involves applying
for a home occupation permit through
the Klamath County Planning Com-
mission. Because the Warricks’ home is
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SOLUTION TO
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zoned for residential use, they need to
acquire a permit in order to host cus-
tomers and make business transactions
on their property. They submitted their
application this month, and a period of
public comment period is currently ac-
tive until Feb. 2. If the county approves
the permit, K-Falls Essentials will be
allowed to open up to the public on a
yearly basis, given that they renew their
permit annually.
“We wanted to do everything right,”
Warrick said.
Several county agencies are in support
of the business. K-Falls Essentials re-
ceived a Klamath County Economic De-
velopment Grant at the end of last year
to build a small parking area, purchase a
shop structure and signage for the farm,
most of which has been completed. The
application included letters of support
from Discover Klamath, the Klamath
County Chamber of Commerce and the
Oregon Lavender Association.
Warrick said there may be neighbors
concerned about increased traffic to the
Sunset Beach area, but she hopes mea-
sures she and her husband have taken
will minimize that as much as possible.
She doesn’t expect any major negative
comments during the permit hearing.
“We’re trying to make it as convenient
as possible,” she said.
Warrick said her venture could lead to
similar operations locally, helping farm-
ers and ranchers embrace agritourism.
Aiming to harness a place’s agricul-
tural production, agritourism can help
visitors connect with where their food
comes from. It can include touring a po-
tato processing plant in Malin, strolling
through a peach orchard in Hood River
or plucking fragrant lavender from the
source in Jacksonville.
Raena Rodgers, marketing manager
for Discover Klamath, said farm visits
and farm-to-table dinners have driven
tourism dollars to local economies in
those areas.
“Areas similar to us have been able to
capitalize on agritourism,” she said.
Rodgers said Discover Klamath, along
with SCOEDD, Rural Klamath Connects
and Discover Siskiyou, has been working
on ramping up agritourism in the Klam-
ath Basin since 2017. But many ag pro-
ducers are too busy running their opera-
tions to open them up to the public.
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