Willow Hill Farm Vermont

06/03/2026

What day is it? Fertilizing!
The bumbles are out there having a ton of fun 🐝❤️

05/24/2026

05/24/2026

Never forget. Those who served so that we could be free. Memorial Day

05/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=935194949512961&set=a.757409690624822&type=3

That low-growing plant with purple cylindrical flower heads and square stems. The one your mower clips regularly. The one your neighbor calls lawn mint.

That's self-heal. Native across most of North America. And one of the few flowering plants that can complete its entire bloom cycle at lawn mowing height.

Most lawn flowers put up tall stems that get clipped before they finish. Self-heal flowers at three inches. The bumblebees and small carpenter bees visiting it are foraging in your grass between mowings, at a height the mower doesn't reach if the blade is set above three inches.

She's in the mint family — square stems, opposite leaves, small lipped flowers. Unlike most mints, she stays low and doesn't spread aggressively. A patch holds its ground without taking over.

During the midsummer gap — when spring flowers have finished and fall blooms haven't started — many suburban yards have almost nothing flowering at ground level. A lawn with self-heal in it is still feeding native bees through that window.

🌿 What to do with self-heal in the lawn:

- Leave it. A patch of self-heal is a feeding station for native bees during the weeks when little else is blooming at lawn height
- Mow above three inches — self-heal flowers work at that height and bumblebees keep visiting between mowings
- Skip broadleaf herbicide where it's growing — self-heal recovers slowly after spraying and what fills the gap is usually something less useful
- If you're seeding a meadow strip or no-mow zone, add self-heal to the mix. It establishes quickly and holds soil while taller plants grow

The plant most people mow past without noticing is the one keeping bees fed when the rest of the lawn has nothing to offer 🌿

04/09/2026

Hey Folks! I've just updated my farm website and added links to find my new book, Greenhouse Guide for Beginners, either at Amazon or IngramSpark, which is a distributor to bookstores like Barnes & Noble, etc.

Thanks for your support!

Organic blueberries in VT. Certified organic since 1992! U Pick in july and aug call for info

12/18/2025

Hi Folks. I had a You Tube channel for a long time for my animal bodyworker business. I have since changed it to the farm. Check it out and give a follow. I will be loading my videos there for those who are not on Instagram or TikTok :) to include farm related, animal musings, educational and some zen...
Thanks for your support!

Farm related musings up in Northern Vermont to include animal fun, homesteading info, sugaring, wildlife, natural animal care, organic farming and maybe even...

12/18/2025

Birds on the farm! :)

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

12/16/2025

Broken teeth from coffee?!

12/05/2025

12/03/2025

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