Inspired by their travels, this young couple created a calming retreat outside Iowa City.
Stephanie and Taylor Getting love watching a sense of calm wash over visitors who arrive at Calyx Creek Lavender & Lodging.
“At least a couple times a summer, we’ll see people get out of their car, and they’ll put their hands up in the air, looking out at the lavender fields like, ‘We made it.’” Taylor said. “People will tell us, ‘I’ve had this on my vision board forever;’ ‘This is on my bucket list.’ And they’re just so excited that it’s happening in Iowa.”
More than a decade before opening their blossoming agritourism destination, Stephanie and Taylor experienced a similar sensation while traveling in the Pacific Northwest.
“When we lived in the Seattle area, we were taking a trip to the San Juan Islands and stumbled on a lavender farm,” Taylor said.
That breathtaking burst of purple planted an idea that truly took root in 2022, when the Gettings purchased farm property in Oxford, Iowa, about 30 minutes west of Iowa City. The couple, who moved back to Iowa in 2015 to start their family, wanted to raise their daughters on an acreage brimming with natural beauty.
“I got to grow up on a small hobby farm and wanted my kids to have some of those same experiences,” Stephanie said.
Returning to their home state of Iowa and planting a lavender crop would make that vision possible, but finding and acquiring the ideal site took patience.
“We feel very fortunate for the property we ended up with,” she said. “The soil type and its ability to be successful with growing the lavender was almost too perfect. The woodlands and water flowing through provided the dynamics for the space we were hoping to create.”
Making their lavender farm vision a reality
With help from family and their Church community, the Gettings now harvest, process, and make more than 100 lavender-infused products, from simple syrups to body scrubs. It’s challenging work, and farming isn’t either of their first careers. Taylor is a pilot for private clients, and Stephanie works for a nonprofit insurance company. Both also serve as pastors, and they’re now parents to three girls.
Support from resources like Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Practical Farmers of Iowa, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Grow Your Future contest and programs like Choose Iowa, which awarded nearly $20,000 in grant funding from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), has helped Calyx Creek flourish. The Gettings used funding to purchase a lavender de-budding machine and distilling equipment to produce more products.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig toured the farm in 2024, and the Gettings’ purple fields left an impression.
“Calyx Creek is a great example of how Choose Iowa is helping entrepreneurs turn their vision into reality right here at home,” Naig said. “Through the Choose Iowa grant, they’ve been able to expand their lavender operation, adding value and creating new opportunities on their farm. What really stands out is how they’ve created a place where visitors from Iowa and beyond can slow down, enjoy the setting, and experience agriculture in a unique way.”
Calyx Creek is located just a few miles north of I-80, and the farm is gaining recognition as a respite for travelers and locals alike.
“Our vision was to help people escape the everyday,” Stephanie said. “We wanted to create space for people to stay more than just an hour or two and really be able to engage with Iowa’s agriculture for extended periods of time. Also, from a business perspective, we wanted to diversify to create some stability.”
FFA groups and preschools spend time in the lavender fields. Groups come to practice yoga in the fields or taste wood-fired pizza made with lavender goat cheese. The Gettings share their skills through hands-on wreath-making and beekeeping workshops.
RELATED: Download the Choose Iowa Passport and discover unique agritourism experiences, receive discounts, and earn prizes.
“A lot of Iowa’s agricultural experiences happen in the fall,” Taylor said. “They’re pumpkin or apple-related. It didn’t dawn on us initially, but it’s great to be able to offer something in the summer, when people are traveling.”
In addition to hosting visitors in Calyx Creek’s u-pick fields, the Gettings book events in their 3,500 square-foot venue and overnight guests in a collection of modern treetop suites. The Hilltop Treehouse overlooks 4,000 lavender plants, and a new A-frame accommodates up to 10 guests, with private decks, spa-inspired bathrooms and access to walking trails. The new labyrinth may soon become a go-to spot for senior portraits or engagement shoots. “It’s been fun to be able to partner in many different ways that we didn’t even expect, and to create space for people to come learn, experience and rest,” Stephanie said. “It’s an honor to not only chase my dream, but to also get to help other people in their journey.”
