In the greenhouse, the scent arrives before anything else. It’s floral yet earthy, distinctive but not overwhelming.  

It’s the first hint of the coming agritourism business at Teva Farms in Hidden Valley. The greenhouse plants are still petite — hundreds are still tiny plugs, barely more than a few inches tall — but the smell is heavenly. 

“I spend a lot of time in here when they’re freshly watered in the morning because that smell of lavender is just…,” Liza Williams trails off staring at thousands of young plants in the greenhouse. She seems lost in thought for a moment. 

Their plans are extensive: by fall 2027, they want to offer U-pick opportunities when the plants bloom twice a year, host oil distillery classes, offer cooking classes, sell lavender-infused foods and host weddings and other events. It would also include other ventures in beekeeping and a future pumpkin patch. 

Will said the idea grew from not only his own childhood on a farm, but also time as a family spent near farms in California and Oregon.  

“It was always a goal to be able to stay home with her and work with her … and be on the farm to just raise our kids and enjoy building something for the community together,” he said.  

But it’s also because after moving to the Maricopa area, they were surprised at how little agritourism took place in an otherwise agricultural-driven county. 

“We loved visiting other farms with the kids, and we noticed Maricopa didn’t have that,” Liza said. “We would go to Schnepf Farms and [wonder], ‘why don’t we have anything like that here?’ Then one day I’m like, wait a minute, we should probably just do it.” 

So far, they’ve planted 285 of the thousands of plants in the ground before the heat kicks in — it’s their trial run to see exactly how much water, nutrients and other care the lavender needs to thrive through the summer. By fall, they plan to evaluate what worked and what didn’t before they plant the rest. 

“It’s such a process but once it’s all done, it’s going to be the prettiest thing ever,” Liza said. 

Will said the long-term payoff will come from building it themselves. 

“We both come from pretty humble beginnings … and to work hard to get to this point, it’s exciting,” he said. “We’re excited to see the final outcome because we’ll be able to look back and really see that we did it all with our own hands.”