Our 155 Acre “Garden"

"The garden is a place to go for quiet contemplation, a source not only of food but also of spiritual renewal and intimate contact with life's most basic processes."  Edward Smith,
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible

At Distant Hill we consider the entire property to be a "Garden", including the cultivated ornamental gardens, our vegetable garden, our pollinator and milkweed meadows, and all the native plants and fungi of our forest, fields and wetlands. All are important components of the functioning biodiverse ecosystem found at Distant Hill.

We use the term "Garden" broadly to include the growing of any plant, and believe in the importance of plants and their use in the landscape to help foster an ecological balance between humans and the land.

Thinning our woodlands to improve the health and productivity of the trees is no different than thinning carrots to give them room to grow. Mowing our fields at the best time of year to promote a healthy milkweed crop for the monarch butterfly caterpillars is much like pruning our shrubs to encourage more flowers.

We strive to improve the aesthetics, fertility and biological diversity of the land in a way that is sustainable and will leave this a healthier and more beautiful Distant Hill.