DETROIT — In western Michigan there's a cherry farm where you can choose between zen, or a strudel.
"We wanted to have it be something more than just a place to stop and pick up a quart of cherries," said Barbara Bull, owner of the Cherry Point Farm and Market in Shelby. "We wanted people to have the opportunity to come and connect with the land,
"People no longer have a grandfather or a cousin or an uncle with a farm. Someplace that they can go and just be on the land. That's why it worked out for us to have a lavender labyrinth."
Bull teamed up with local architect and artist Conrad Heiderer, who helped design the labyrinth on a 300-square-foot piece of land on the farm. Construction started in 2001 with a stone circle in the center, the lavender was planted in 2002 and an herb garden in the center was created in 2004.
"It is a long contemplative walk that allows people to connect with themselves, with the place, with any issues that they might be considering, or with a higher power," said Bull. "It's a place to become grounded. That's what the labyrinth accomplishes here for people when they visit."
The pattern inside the herb garden is called a 12-point vesica. There are 12 interlocking circles of the same size and the circumference of each circle passes through the midpoint of each adjoining circle and the midpoint of the outside stone circle. The effect creates a star with interlocking beds of flowers and herbs. The innermost 12 beds all have themes such as medicinal, or edible, or plants that can be used as dyes.
Located just minutes from Silver Lake State Park, the Bull family has been selling cherries at this location since the early 1950's. Barbara took over in 1987. Besides baskets of cherries, the market sells baked goods, as well as books and jewelry by local authors. There's also a fish boil three days a week.
A rough winter in 2018 meant the lavender in the labyrinth had to be replanted. It should reach full maturity by 2023.
As long as the market is open the labyrinth is open — and there is no charge to walk through it. It typically takes about an hour and a half from beginning to end, although you can cut straight to the herb garden if you don't have that much time.
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