Popular herb farm a must see

‘There’s an answer in the garden. It’s nature’s pharmacy and what better way.’ Lynn Kirkland.

Lynn (left) and daughter Sarah in the herb gardens.

A mother’s frustration when doctors were unable to offer a long-term fix for her child’s chest infections is what led to Lynn Kirkland starting the Herb Farm.

Lynn who still makes the product today, pictured at work in the early days.

It’s now an international business success story and a very popular Palmerston North visitor attraction.

Managing Director Sarah Cowan, Lynn’s daughter, says her Mum wasn’t going to give up.

“She created a herb garden, learnt to make emulsions and tested them out on my brother and me. Amazed with the results she started selling them from a hallway cupboard and so the story began.”

Twenty-eight years ago Lynn and her husband bought 15 acres of bare land and started creating the herb gardens and a shop to sell the remedies and then in 1997 came the cafe which is so hugely popular today.

Mum Lynn is still making the remedies and working the gardens, but Sarah has taken over the business side of things, exporting overseas and more recently entering the Australian market.

“You could call Mum a pioneer in the industry. She had a vision and now we have a big brand. She still does all the product development and has written a children’s book starring characters like Miss Calendula and Sir Thyme, teaching kids how they can use herbs and make their own remedies,” Sarah says.

There’s plenty to amuse the kids at the Herb Farm with themed gardens – there’s a fairy garden, a gnome’s village, a cafe, shop and two acres of herb gardens.

The farm is open every day of the week from 10am to 4.30 and entry is free.

You’ll find it in Ashurst just 15 minutes from Palmerston North.

Visitors enjoy delicious food sourced in many cases, from the farm in the outside courtyard.