Labour of love and lavendar

A burst of floral zestiness, evocative of sultry summer days. The crisp scent of lavender is both alluring and comforting and it’s here in abundance at Long Barn Lavender in Alresford.

In a chic oak barn in the heart of the Hampshire countryside is an enticing array of lotions and potions made from lavender oil, grown and distilled in Winchester.

Handmade soaps are piled high beside rows of elegant bottles and jars containing luxurious lavender body washes, face creams, shampoos and lip balm.

There is even a range of lavender infused food products from shortbread and chocolate truffles to honey and teas.

Outside, some 5,000 lavender plants nestle in the chalky Hampshire soil – the same number of wooden pegs used by local carpenters to construct the stunning building on Alresford’s Old Sheep Fair.

The spacious barn is the latest addition to Richard Norris and Jane Marsden’s blossoming lavender empire, which includes a ten-acre lavender farm in Owslebury, Winchester (one of the largest in the UK) a home and beauty store with therapy room in Alresford and a mail order service.

It’s all a far cry from the company’s experimental beginnings, growing a handful of lavender plants under lemonade bottles in a Winchester field and extracting oil with a homemade distillation kit.

Today, Long Barn has 12.5 acres of organic lavender fields, supporting 60,000 plants and producing 80-100 litres of lavender oil every year.

Some of the plants are harvested by hand to create traditional dried bunches but most are kept for their oil, which is taken to a top secret location in the south of England to be transformed into beauty and skincare products (look out for them in boutique hotels across the south east).

For former IT consultant Richard – who founded Long Barn in 1997 – it’s the realisation of a childhood dream.

“Even at age ten I was interested in gardening at quite a deep level,” says Richard, 42, whose teachers steered him away from a horticultural career.

“At the time people thought there was no money in gardening. It wasn’t perceived as a career option for someone who was academic, so I ended up doing a business studies degree and training in accountancy.”

But Richard dreamt of combining his passion for gardening with his business know-how, and decades later, an article on the lost art of English lavender growing, once a thriving British industry, gave him the impetus to do just that.

“The British lavender industry was at its peak in the 1700s through to the end of the Victorian era and English lavender oil was deemed to be the finest quality in the world. I wanted to resurrect that,” said Richard.

Instead of distilling the oil and selling it wholesale as originally planned (which would have meant competing with big industries in France and Croatia) Richard experimented with a range of lavender oil products.

While waiting for his plants to mature (it takes three to four years for a lavender plant to yield a useful amount of oil) he started researching.

“I was underwhelmed by the quality of existing lavender products,” says Richard who, like the early lavender farmers, had begun to sell lavender oil and dried bunches at London markets.

“Everything I found was tired, chintzy and, to put it bluntly, grandmotherly.

“Lavender is famed for its intense perfume but all the products seemed to be gentle and somehow removed from the plant. Most didn’t even list lavender as an ingredient.

“I wanted to truly capture that fresh, zingy, slightly lemony, scent in a product and I wanted to do it organically without using chemicals.”

After years spent perfecting the recipes, Richard launched a range of natural beauty and skincare products – first soaps, then body washes and shampoos.

In contrast to the stuffy lavender talc and chintzy drawer liners most people remembered from their nan’s house, here was a collection that felt fresh and contemporary and would look stylish on our own dressing tables.

“We deliberately went for modern packaging with clean lines and we don’t tint our products blue or purple,” explains Richard who began showcasing his products at consumer shows in London.

National beauty editors soon got wind of the collection and Richard noticed the allure of the company’s Winchester roots. It is a city that, like lavender growing, has associations with traditional English heritage.

“I quickly realised the importance of Winchester and the impact it had on people, especially in the City,” he says.

“Initially we would say we were based in Hampshire but as soon as we started mentioning Winchester interest seemed to intensify. We had decided not to sell on the traditional aromatherapy basis but on the premise of buying something without chemicals.”

It proved to be a shrewd business move. Richard’s focus on natural products preceded the boom for all things organic.

“I don’t claim any business insight for that but it has certainly helped us. We have been in tune with a much younger market.”

Today some of Long Barn’s core customers are the ‘yummy mummys’ who, after looking for natural skincare products for their newborns, turn to something similar for themselves.

One of the best-sellers is a water-based pillow spray designed to soothe and relax.

The seven varieties of lavender grown at Long Barn are kept a closely guarded secret but Richard, who has grown some plants from wild seed collected in France, believes he has a few varieties which are not grown anywhere else in the UK.

“I’ve selected varieties that wouldn’t normally be used for these purposes,” he says. “Each variety has its own scent and I’ve discovered that the oils behave differently in different products.”

The lavender shrubs re-flower every year but Richard usually plants some new ones in January and February. In June, the first flowers are harvested followed by a stronger variety in July and August.

“We have to try and mimic its natural habitat which means thin, well-drained soil,” says Richard. “Lavender also loves open, windy conditions so we plant on a south-facing slope.”

Richard’s business partner Jane Marsden who joined the company in 2006 after spotting the Long Barn stand at a consumer show says the business is about “more than just lavender”.

“Lavender is very emotive and attractive but it goes beyond that, it’s an ethos and a lifestyle. We’re offering something green and eco friendly but without being grungy.”

Richard is still searching for the words to do his favourite plant justice.

“There’s just something about it,” he says smiling. The scent and the memories it evokes… I love it.”