Nestled atop 10 sloping and primarily wooded acres, Tiny Meadow Farm grew from a backyard restoration project into a small nursery specializing in plants for Northeastern gardens. The nursery is bisected by an old road marked by overgrown, but long-standing rock walls that hint at the region’s agricultural past. Rocky, forested landscapes rich with wetlands, vernal pools, and permanent and intermittent streams surround the abandoned agricultural fields. To the west lies a vast swampland that was recently deemed by the Native Plant Trust as an Important Plant Area—a landscape containing an exceptionally high diversity of rare plants. On the east, wet woodlands gradually ascend to the rocky Terre Haute ridgetop. Two small reservoirs that provide local drinking water are protected and buffered by this landscape. Along with Tiny Meadow Farm, this land is part of over 1,000 contiguous acres of open space that weave through this hidden corner of Fairfield County. Now a mere footpath, the section of old road that runs through Tiny Meadow Farm serves as a connector between the undeveloped lands on both sides of Long Ridge Road.

I walk the land as often as I can. Rock walls hint at prior land use and former roads, but the sloping, rocky terrain and wet areas have limited development and allowed the forest to regrow. Heading home on the trail, the landscape begins to lighten where the tree cover ends. From the edge of the woods, as I approach my house returning from a hike, I see the small old field rising up from the road. Restoring this tiny meadow became my first project when I moved here. I decided to grow most of the meadow plants from seed because I wanted to feel connected to the entire process of the field’s transformation, and to see the landscape evolve naturally over time. After sourcing and wild collecting the most appropriate native plants, and propagating thousands of seedlings, Tiny Meadow Farm came to life and inspired me to help others to source local plants through the creation of the nursery. These fields and plantings on the property are an important source local ecotype seed for some of the species we offer.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

-Shanyn Siegel, owner of Tiny Meadow Farm