Welcome!

It is May and gardening season is ramping up! Though we hope for more rain as it is so dry (fire bans are already in place and wildfires have started all around us), it is safe to plant out hardy garden species and mature natives. Other plants can go out during the day to harden off.   

I have so many seedlings that have sprouted, and every day in between watering (Lol!) I feel like most of my spare time is being spent transplanting. Mature overwintered plants are mostly up (some species are naturally later then others). This busy time means I can’t always keep the inventory on the website updated, but if there is something you would like and do not see, please reach out, as it might just not have been posted yet.

I have once again put the next Celtic Zodiac and Plants blog on hold until things calm down a bit. This next one will feature Hazel, Crane and Amethyst among other things, so patiently follow us on FB and here on our website so you can catch it when it does come out.

I am writing about our journey of building our chickens their insulated winter coop, including how, why, what worked, and what we would change on our next one. I have had to revamp it already due to our flock increasing, so I will add our addition into my accounts for you as well. 

We are so close to completing the Firecircle program! The business plan and last modules take the longest, but this program is so worth the investment as it will guide Medieval Manor’s path in the short and long term. If you are considering starting a new business in the tourism sector, have an Indigenous led or rural-type business, consider this program. 

The “Dragon Wagon”, our mobile vardo or “gypsy wagon” will be open on May 1st, 2025 when we celebrate Beltane resuming our Beach Corner market. We will be there every Thursday from 2-7 pm, so that we may bring Medieval Manor Gardens to those who might not be able to make it out to our location. Our actual onsite shop, Hiraeth (pronounced Hee-rye-th) will open for special events so stay tuned to see when it will be open next. Our farm products and local artwork, and samples of some of our baked treats featuring ingredients from our native plants are available at Hiraeth. Hiraeth is a deep inborn sense of yearning for a place beyond this plane of existence. It is more of a deeper feeling of homecoming. It is in the wind, the rocks, and the waves. It is nowhere and it is everywhere. It is perfect for our little place of connection to enable guests to bring a piece home with them to remind them of their time here.  Our greenhouse and gardens will take time to get in order, but piece by piece we will have more things growing and available to peruse.

Then there is the livestock. Our rare and heritage flock of poultry has been increasing in order to meet the needs of our clients (thank you so much for your ongoing support through purchasing our Rainbow Protein Pearls, AKA Farm Fresh Eggs!). We now have Black Copper Marans, Isbars, Cream Legbars, and we hope to add some Dark Cornish and Opal Legbars this season. Of course, we can’t forget our Guinea watch dogs. If we are lucky, we will have some opaline ones this year!

Saphira and Proof, our 2

Curly horse mares, look forward to receiving visitors, and will provide some luscious hypo-allergenic wool. Juno, the  Mammoth donkey, will watch over our sheep flock, which arrived at the beginning of October 2024. She loves attention, so is a great ambassador for the farm.

We look forward to breeding and increasing the numbers of Wiltshire Horn Sheep here in Canada, and hope to offer breeding stock, lamb, wool mulch, and horns soon.

All of these projects will require a lot of infrastructure and elbow grease! MM Gardens is therefore looking for some great volunteers who wish to learn and share their skills to join our Crewyrs (Creators) tribe. We are currently looking for people experienced in building sheds/animal shelters, and livestock fencing, as well as people who enjoy working in the soil to help us prepare some garden beds. More information will be coming, but in the meantime, anyone interested can contact me at dawnw@mmgardens.ca.

If you have a group interested in having us run a workshop or hike for you at your location or ours, or are looking for some consultation regarding a planting project, by all means, contact us to arrange something. We do not take any deposits until we know it’s a go and can always change dates if required.

We currently do not generally ship live plants out of province as they are overwintered outdoors to ensure hardiness, and may therefore contain organisms not native to other places. Some areas near us can receive free shipping, so please inquire if you are unsure or if our website is not cooperating. 

Teachers, groups, and corporate team builders, a great idea for this spring or next fall, is to arrange for one of our in-person workshops or tours. Whether you wish to create a mini ecosystem (woodland, prairie, or puddle garden), go on a nature walk, or engage with and learn from our unique livestock and regenerative farming practices, MM Gardens can create an experience just for you! Contact us at info@mmgardens for details.

Gift certificates are a great way to gift something in advance or if you are unsure of what someone may like. Delivery is also available to a number of areas.

Our aim is to provide completely immersive nature and agricultural experiences and products to educate

and connect people back to the land, thus instilling a desire to take action regarding the health of Mother Earth and her children.    

Stay safe, and thank you for supporting local business and going back to your roots to grow your future.

Dawn Watts,

Owner and creator of Medieval Manor Gardens