Organic botanical farming is just a way of life

by April Charmaine

Lily Morgan may surprise some — a farmer who wears burgundy lipstick, blue eyeliner, thick mascara, platform clogs, fitted dark denim and stylized jeans. But no, this is how she lives — at home in open spaces, looking good, checking plants, cursing the hail and running her own botanical skin-care line known as Lily Organics in the middle of Northeastern Colorado.

“I’m into space. I love space,” she says about her humble farm.

With medicinal herbs just beginning to grow into beautiful flowers and botanicals, she also grows some veggies on her city-block-sized plot — all labeled with certified organic markers. This medicinal farm has been certified organic for nearly five years and in existence for almost a decade more.

What is striking about the farm is its simplicity. Nothing fancy, no major carved-out mounds of dirt or perfect rows of crops — just functional. There’s a plot here with sage, arnica, rosemary, calendula, feverfew and chamomile, and her “woolly garden” is tucked under a budding tree, giving life to peppermint, fennel, yarrow and comfrey. With access to 15 more acres on Morgan’s personal property and more in Hudson, this farmer is getting her space, using only what is needed, without leaving a carbon footprint.

“I don’t think people put the connection together, being green, being a farmer,” says Morgan about the green movement. “Organic farming is the foundation.”

With plans to remain a small company, Lily Organics maintains an honest level of quality control.

“You can’t make products for the masses and have a great skin care line,” says Morgan.

Lily Organics makes new batches of product weekly in its USDA Organic-certified laboratory. Featuring a cabinet of herbs — all organic, of course — and two or three shelves of products, the lab is small but just right to get the job done with a little farm help and four consistent employees. Doing somewhere between 10,000 to 20,000 trials on products has created a level of expertise and an ability to help others get what they most need out of a skin-care product.

Offering three major lines of chemical-free skin care, Lily Organics’ variety of products is impressive. All branches have roots, and at Lily Organics there are a variety of classic products served up in the most basic way — straight from the earth, footsteps away from the laboratory, and sent directly to local stores.

“Building the infrastructure has taken 24 years. We are finally ready for growth,” says Morgan, who became interested in skin care because of her personal experiences with problem skin.
The company’s main marketing strategy is doing demonstrations in local Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage stores all over Colorado.

Morgan is one of those people who has a multitude of stories and experiences. She is not just the entrepreneur of an organic skin-care company; she also has an avid interest in foster children, teens and teaching classes in Finance 101. Coming from a rigid life of hard work on the farm, with a father who instilled the value of knowing about money, plus a master’s degree in public administration, she has an unlikely combination of skills.

She acknowledges that she has become what her father, also a farmer, wanted. He trained her, pushed her, and now she has something to show for the self-discipline he taught her. Lily Organics is now an institution in local natural foods stores.

Though running a farm and a business might seem stressful, Morgan devotes time to self-care, eating well, meditating, doing yoga — the things that sustain her personally and professionally. She manages this without giving off a faux interest in the lifestyle; it’s just her everyday life. She has written a book about it, titled Beauty, Health, and Happiness — A Way of Life.

“The mountains are hyper,” she says, explaining why she loves living on the plains.

Enjoying the diversity of people, languages and culture has made this Michigan-born, seventh-generation farmer want to keep her roots right here where she can enjoy the outdoors and the overall landscape of colorful Colorado.

Eventually she wants to collaborate with other local farmers, like her neighbor Clark’s Honey, to create an “agri-tourism” industry for people to experience the wonderful, laborious, plain and simple quality of organic farming life.

Lily Organics can be found at all Colorado natural food stores, Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottages, and online at www.lilyorganics.com.

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