What do you do with a plant that hates water and most things can’t eat? If you’re Bill MacElroy, you grow 35,000 of them. Monte-Bellaria di California is the largest lavender 
farm in Northern California, spanning 9.5 acres of planted lavender. Most of the farm’s production focuses on the high-yielding “grosso” variety, a cross between sweet-smelling English lavender and Portuguese spike lavender. The “herbal, camphorous smell” of grosso, with the beeswax gathered on-site, is perfect for blending the farm’s signature essential oils, aromatherapy perfumes, soaps and culinary products. “In aromatherapy, camphor opens the bronchial passages much more effectively than more perfumey lavender,” MacElroy says.
Monte-Bellaria di California, 3518 Bloomfield Rd., Sebastopol,
707-829-2645, Monte-Bellaria.com
