This Ties That Bind Us is sponsored by Matt The Carpet Guy.
MILTON, Del. — Grief is something nearly everyone experiences, but it is often difficult to talk about. At Lavender Fields in Milton, one nonprofit is creating a peaceful place where people can reflect, connect with others and find comfort after loss.
Peace, Love, and Lavender was founded by Cait Spieker-Gee, a former lawyer who found a new calling as a farmer after losing her daughter, Tallulah June, in utero.
"Grief swallowed me whole and spit me back out," she said. "I didn't know up from down. I didn't know what to do."
Searching for healing, Spieker-Gee said she tried nearly everything. Then she found Lavender Fields.
"When I told my family that I felt her spirit out here, they're the ones that rallied behind me to help me do it."
Today, she said the farm has become part of her healing.
"It's been a project in catharsis and the grief is still there. It's there all of the time. I can never make it go away. But when I connect with other people that have been through something similar or I plant something for her and I watch it grow, that's what's really been the most helpful of all the things that I've tried. And so the farm is for her."
The Peace, Love, and Lavender nonprofit keeps the property open to the public. The grounds include gardens, picnic tables, walking trails, an animal sanctuary and petting zoo, all available at no cost. One of the property's most meaningful features is a walking labyrinth, maintained as a free place for people to meditate, pray and grieve. Outside the labyrinth sits a small Mother Mary statue. During Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month each October, visitors are invited to walk the labyrinth before taking home free forget-me-not seeds in memory of loved ones.
Spieker Gee says this is a space for people to come walk and heal.
While pregnancy loss inspired the nonprofit, Spieker-Gee noted that grief touches everyone, and the farm provides a place of comfort.
"[People will] come out here and they'll say, 'Oh, I came here with my grandmother,' or, 'This is where I had my wedding and I remember my dad walking me down the aisle and he's not here anymore.' Those connections are so meaningful," Spieker-Gee said.
Beyond grief support, Peace, Love, and Lavender has expanded its mission to serve others throughout the community.
The nonprofit hosts a free neurodivergent women's support group, the free Steps of Solace grief support walking group and at least one free seasonal family event each year featuring activities such as bounce houses. Children visiting the farm can also participate in a free scavenger hunt.
The non-profit also facilitates support groups and sensory friendly events at the farm.
Peace, Love, and Lavender partners with Roots Farm and Forest School and the Bloom Room Holistic Spa Cancer Warrior Program. The nonprofit also employs students through the Sussex Consortium vocational program.
"We also have a big focus on supporting the disabled community," Spieker-Gee said. "Disability comes in all shapes and sizes."
The nonprofit also maintains a free pollinator sensory garden designed to provide an inclusive outdoor space for visitors of all abilities.
She said creating an inclusive environment is just as important as providing a peaceful one.
Looking ahead, Spieker-Gee hopes to expand the nonprofit's impact while continuing to keep the property free and open to everyone. Future plans include hiring more disabled adults with built-in one-on-one support and in-house vocational training, expanding the sensory garden, creating an inclusive summer camp for children with limb, learning, sensory and social-emotional differences, building a wheelchair-accessible playground and offering weekly workshops designed for disabled children.
"There is this thing in New Orleans, 'Be nice or leave,'" Spieker Gee explains. "That is my only thing. If I can just keep [Lavender Fields] open and people come out here and they feel that healing energy, then I feel like, 'All right, I've done enough for the day and then I hope it just grows from there."
Lavender Fields is open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with free admission, offering a welcoming space for anyone seeking comfort, reflection or simply time in nature.
