Alchemy Farm

Alchemy Farm is a ten-year environmental art project created by artist Ingrid Koivukangas, exploring pollinator habitat and ecological gardening.

The original gardens are under new stewardship and new gardens are being established at our new location. Alchemy Farm was co-created by environmental artist Ingrid Koivukangas and Robin Logan. www.ingridkoivukangas.com

02/05/2025

Looks like we’ll have snow for days—sure wish I could shake this cold so that I could enjoy it more! In the meantime, it’s cozy in the house with the cookstove and fireplace both going. Lazy days of introspection, waiting.
I’m dreaming about spring blooms and days in the garden filled with bird song, and bees, and warm Salish Sea breezes.
How about you?

02/04/2025

It’s a snow day!

I love snow, it reminds me of my childhood in northern Ontario. I love the snow-silence that blankets the world, a soft peacefulness.

How about you? Do you love the snow?

01/30/2025

This beautiful repost compilation of Alchemy Farm moments put together by (find her on IG), is a magical visual of what we’re all about—a bee, flower and nature haven that’s a balm for pollinators and humans alike.

I think we live in paradise 💜

01/27/2025

It’s been cold here—below zero for a week—which is rare for the west coast and so cold! I’ve been putting off going outside to work on a project, but I’ll share more about that tomorrow.

Even on the most awful of weather days, my mind is naturally drawn to find beauty around me. Maybe my soul mantra is beauty. I believe in beauty because it allows us to access feelings of wonder and awe, which brings us one step closer the the truth, that nature is everything.

It might be the way the mist from the field is being woven around ghostly trees, as if by invisible hands, or the way the sun moves through the leaves lighing dewdrops or the wind traces patterns on the water.

For the past week, our morning walks have been filled with breathtaking beauty, golden sunrises lighting frosted fields glinting as if dusted with fairy dust. I’ve taken a few photos, but usually we’re in a hurry to get back to the house to get the three dogs fed.

This afernoon I finally went out with clippers, buckets and camera. Gathering January to share with you, for even in the stillness of winter, there is beauty everywhere.

These are just a few of the frost-kissed moments I captured. Tomorrow, I’ll share my other January treasure with you.

01/24/2025

Planting trees is one of the most important things we can do to help the environment.

Trees are the lungs of the planet, cleaning the air we breathe and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. Trees provide habitat for birds, animals, plants. They filter the water we drink and also provide us with medicine.

Sequoia trees are an endangered species, threatened by climate change and fires in their natural southern locations. They grow and thrive here in our environment in the Pacific Northwest, which is why we planted a sacred Sequoia grove.

The grove is a community effort, each of the 12 trees was planted in memory of loved ones with the 13th central tree representing Alchemy Farm.

The trees are planted in a large circle on the cardinal and intercardinal points with the central tree acting as a sundial.

Circles symbolize unity, wholeness, infinity and perfection.

As an environmental artist this is one of my favourite land art projects here at our farm.

01/14/2025

It’s a typical west coast winter day here at the farm—watered-down Paynes grey skies, heavy damp air that chills to the bone. The fire’s been going since dawn, and the house is toasty warm.

I’ve been updating websites, which means sifting through achingly beautiful photos of summer.

This one captured my heart and I thought I’d share it with you, in case you too, are need of a bit of beauty boost.

The photo stirs memories…

The sun warm on my face as I walk through the gardens, a meditation of gathering. Carefully choosing the right colour, texture and fragrance. Stopping once in a while for bees to finish their foraging, or deciding to come back later. Bird song and soft ocean breezes, a frog calling from the pond.

Even all these months later, I can feel the energy of the flowers…a fragrant song of flowers: roses, lavender, astrantia, lisianthus, dahlias, obedient flower, bottle brush, snapdragons, phlox, chamomile, hyssop, snapdragons, alstroemeria and mints.

How I love this place that has become the home of my heart—the one that when I lived in the city I never thought I’d find. This land is filled with healing magic and flower messengers of love. 💜

01/09/2025

We’re coming up to the 10-year anniversary of Alchemy Farm this summer. This morning, I found myself scrolling through old photos—memories filed in a Dropbox instead of photo albums.

All of our gardens were planted for bees and pollinators. The front garden, we call the Show Garden, is now bursting with established perennials, but started out as a scrubby, dry, patch of what once might have been a lawn. It came with a falling down, moss-covered shed—we saved a lot of the moss by transplanting it in another part of the garden.

It’s astonishing to see the progression through these old photos. Some of them match memories I have, but others I have no recollection of.

The journey of this farm to where it is today is humbling—it’s no wonder we were completely exhausted after those first three years. And it’s still a work in progress that gets reinvented every year.

I thought I’d share a few of the photos here. Maybe as a little reminder: stop and take a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come.

You and your journey are more incredible than you realize. 🌸✨

Address

Salt Spring Island, BC

Telephone

250-930-3276

Website

http://alchemyfarm.ca/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Alchemy Farm posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Alchemy Farm:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Food & Beverage Service in Salt Spring Island?