Lavender Fields to change hands Nov. 30

Fall has blown in the winds of change to one of the Cape Region’s favorite local attractions, as Lavender Fields in Milton is about to change hands from longtime owner Marie Mayor to new owner Cait Spieker-Gee.

The sale of the 5-acre farm is expected to go through Thursday, Nov. 30.

Spieker-Gee, who will be moving to the farm with her husband, Trevor, and two sons, is a native of Milton who is a lawyer by trade with an interest in land use. She said her original plan was to open a real estate-focused law firm after she passed the bar. Spieker-Gee said she had reached out to Realtor Lee Ann Wilkinson about staging houses, and Wilkinson put Spieker-Gee in touch with Mayor, who had wanted to stage the farm as a bed and breakfast.

Spieker-Gee said when she saw the house and the farm, she wanted to buy it. Despite some initial opposition from her mother and her husband, Spieker-Gee was able to win them over and get them on board, and a deal was worked out.

“I like Marie so much. I like what she’s done. I like that it's a community-based place. There’s a lot of good energy here,” she said.

Spieker-Gee also saw taking on the farm as a personal project. Two years ago, her daughter, Tallulah, died in utero. She said that led to a period of anger and grief that Spieker-Gee felt was beginning to define her; the memory still makes her begin to tear up. However, she began to think of her late daughter as a guide.

“What are the things that I should chase? What are the things she would want me to feel? My color for her is purple, and my symbol for her is a butterfly. When you come out here, you see so much purple in the summer – there’s the wisteria, there’s the lavender, and there are butterflies everywhere. Part of the reason I wanted it so badly is because she pushed me toward it. I really believe she is here in so many ways,” Spieker-Gee said.

She said other than a few minor tweaks, the guest experience at Lavender Fields will remain the same. It will remain free to get into and will still have the same operations that guests came to love under Mayor’s ownership. Spieker-Gee said she plans to add more benches around the property, and partner with organizations such as Sussex Consortium, work with local obstetric practices to provide care packages to women who have had miscarriages or stillbirth, and host grief circles. She said she also wants to host weddings at the venue.

“I’m just really excited about it,” Spieker-Gee said.

As for Mayor, she said of her reason for selling, “During the past year, I traveled across the southern U.S. and stayed about a month in Morocco and England. I realized how much I missed traveling during COVID and decided it was time to start a new chapter. I will be able to visit family in Georgia for part of the winter and also return to southern France next summer when the lavender is blooming.”

She said she plans to move back to downtown Milton in December.

“The Spieker-Gee family will have wonderful memories at the lavender farm. They bring youth and enthusiasm to ensure visitors to the farm will continue to experience the hospitality of southern Delaware agritourism,” Mayor said.

“Marie really curated this really cool vibe of making old, new,” Spieker-Gee said. “I think it's so great. There’s nothing to fix.”

Spieker-Gee said she plans to host the first event under her ownership featuring a charcuterie board-making class with Sweet Bites Charcuterie Friday, Dec. 8. 

“You just feel good when you’re out here,” she said of the farm. “I want people to come out here, and I want them to feel seen. I want them to feel heard. I want them to feel whole. Because everybody is struggling in some way.”

For more information on Lavender Fields, go to lavenderfieldsde.com.