Hill Farm Nursery

03/30/2026

❤️ Heartfelt thanks to everyone who came out to Williams Lake's 17th annual Seedy Saturday on March 28th. So many packets of seed went away with happy gardeners, and the many conversations we had were tremendously friendly and inspiring. Happy Cariboo-Chilcotin gardening in 2026!🌱🌿🌻🥕🍅🫛

03/20/2026

WHAT TO DO ON SPRING EQUINOX
Compost this poem.
Take out all the words that remind you of winter,
words that slip frozen into the heart,
bare limbs of words that stick into the sky and shake.
Prune out dead wood;
rough ragged never gonna fruit,
done is done!
Pay attention to what is here,
not what isn't.
Send your roots into another row or field or bed.
Mow. Rake up all the grass.
Layer, as if you're expecting hail or a deep frost;
the end of winter is always unpredictable.
Add manure, plenty of manure
and call in the flies, the dung beetles, the worms.
Soon, there will be heat. Steam.
The pile will soften, break down, give in, let go.
Compost winter into spring,
take off those old clothes you've been wearing,
the despair like a hat on your head,
dig into the pile,
into the heat and the heart of what matters.
Plant your garden and remember, each year,
everything will be different;
compost what you can.

Author - Amy Schutzer
Artist - Mary Azarian
Shout-out to The Heirloom Gardener - John Forti for the original post!

03/13/2026

Gardeners, are you ready for the 17th Annual Williams Lake Seedy Saturday?! It's happening on SATURDAY, MARCH 28th, 10 AM till 2 PM, in the Thompson Rivers University - Williams Lake Campus Gym.

Mark those calendars, save the date! FREE to attend, with a voluntary donation jar at the door so we can make this event even better in future years.

So many great info booths to check out, plus a green & local themed vendors area, and a soup-and-bun concession supporting the St Vincent de Paul hot meals program.

There will be four informative and inspiring FREE presentations. Reserve your spots through the Eventbite links in the post below.

Gardeners, are you ready for the 17th Annual Williams Lake Seedy Saturday?! It's happening on SATURDAY, MARCH 28th, 10 AM till 2 PM, in the Thompson Rivers University - Williams Lake Campus Gym.

Mark those calendars, save the date! FREE to attend, with a donation jar at the door so we can make this event even better in future years. :-)

So many great info booths to check out, plus a green & local themed vendors area, and a soup-and-bun concession supporting the St Vincent de Paul hot meals program.

There will be four informative and inspiring FREE presentations. Reserve your spot through the Eventbite links:

10 am Rob Borsato: Gardening in a Changing Climate
FREE TICKETS HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-change-and-cariboo-gardening-with-rob-borsato-mackin-creek-farm-tickets-1983176051957?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

11 am Charlotte Lundeen, Master Gardener in Training: Designing for Biodiversity
FREE TICKETS HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/designing-for-biodiversity-w-master-gardener-in-training-charlotte-lundeen-tickets-1983177305707?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse

12 pm Steph Bird, Cariboo Seed Project: Growing Resilience - Building a Seed-Saving Movement in the Cariboo
FREE TICKETS HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/growing-resilience-building-a-seed-saving-movement-in-the-cariboo-tickets-1983177616637?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

1pm Linda Kliewer: Making Ferments in Your Kitchen
FREE TICKETS HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/home-fermentation-sauerkraut-and-more-with-linda-kliewer-of-kliewer-kraut-tickets-1983177660769?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Check out the poster for a quickie overview, and stay tuned for more details!

11/20/2025

Hey there, plant friends! Yes, we're still here!

Well, this has been quite the season, and it's not really over yet. We are in full 2026 planning mode, and the seed orders are stacking up on the computer desktop, just waiting for the fresh seed crops to load before we hit that send button.

One of the most delightful things we did this past year was plant a double 100-foot row of sweet peas on the edge of one of the vegetable rows, "just for fun". It was one of the high points of the season! We gave away bunches to all of our favourite people, and had fragrant windowsill bouquets from June right through September.

We haven't been very good at taking garden pics this year, but here is a glimpse of this little passion project on July 11, 2025. The fragrance was amazing! And yes, we're going to do this again. Sweet flowers make everything better!

04/26/2025

Quesnel, here we come!
🌿Quesnel Seedy Saturday is happening on Saturday, April 26th, 9 AM till 3 PM at the Quesnel Seniors Centre. and we will have a table there.

🌿Check out all the good stuff assembled in one convenient spot, chat seeds and seed saving with those in the know, enjoy the wonderful workshops, stop by and say hi, and maybe indulge in a bit of green-themed retail therapy.

We will have:
🌿Dwarf Tomato Project tomatoes
🌿Teddy Bear sunflowers
🌿Sweet basil & delicious dill
🌿Janie marigolds
🌿Honeoye June-bearing strawberry starts
🌿and an eclectic selection of houseplants (pickle plant, anyone?!)

Hope to see you soon!

03/29/2025

Spring snapshots, March 27th, 2025.
We're probably about to retire this page, so please head over to Arcadia Borealis Gardens if you want to stay up to date with our happenings!

01/31/2025

Hey there, Cariboo-Chilcotin gardeners! We invite you to check out our new(ish) FB page at: Arcadia Borealis Gardens

Hill Farm Nursery has been in the process of "re-branding" over the past few years to encompass the green initiatives of our plant-loving and plant-growing next generation. Same people, still growing cool plants! (And fresh market garden veggies, too.)

For more of our story and our archive of hundreds of plant profiles, check out our nursery website at https://hillfarmnursery.com/

01/28/2025

January's almost over, the days are wonderfully longer, and spring feels like it's just hovering on the horizon, despite the glimpse of winter out our windows. Are you ready to THINK GARDENING?!

Mark your calendar for this upcoming event - Williams Lake Seedy Saturday, happening on Saturday, March 15th, 10 AM till 2 PM at the TRU Gym, 1250 Western Ave, Williams Lake.

This will be a traditional-style Seedy Saturday, and it will be a fantastic opportunity for everyone to come and check out the info booths, browse the seeds and indoor plants for sale, find some seedy treasures on the "freebie" table, and maybe drop off some of your home-collected and extra seeds to share. (House plant extras welcome, too!)

There will be workshops and discussion panels, great food at the concession fundraiser, and a vendor corner with local farm, food & artisan folk.

The Williams Lake Farmers Market is happy to be co-hosting this event with the Central Cariboo Community Food Hub, with support from the Williams Lake Garden Club, Seeds of Diversity Canada, the Cariboo Seed Project, and legacy sponsorship from the Williams Lake Food Policy Council.

More details coming out in the next few weeks.

And in case you're wondering, the Williams Lake Farmers Market will still be hosting their season starter SeedLING Saturday & Earlybird Farmers' Market on Saturday, May 3rd, followed by the start of the Friday Market season on May 9th.