In the beginning ...

The Kentucky Wildflower Farm is a rewilding work in progress near Holland, KY.  We have 400 acres being managed in this diverse effort. It started about five years ago when we removed the cattle from this farm and began to selectively bush-hog our fields in hopes of establishing a wildflower / pollinator farm.  We have several hives of honeybees. Our farm lies near Long Creek, a tributary of Barren River.  We have eight springs, several seeps and three limestone outcroppings.  55 acres of second bottom is cropped in corn or soybeans.  The Kentucky Wildflower Farm currently serves as a University of Kentucky research site for selected native plants.

There are large populations of goldenrod, wingstem, ironweed, passionflower, american germander and common milkweed.  In our wooded areas (mixed hardwood) which make up nearly half the farm, we have large popluations of twin leaf, mayapples and spicebush.  We have the largest sourwood tree in Allen County on this farm.  Our spring wildflowers include large white trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, foam flower and many more.

We have been planting wildflower oases and ridgetop plantings in several areas to increase the wildflower diversity and native plant seed load.  Next year, we will move six acres of bottom ground into the CRP-pollinator program with our Conservation Agency.  We have bush-hogged around all milkweed colonies (over 50 colonies) for several years.  Some of these colonies now include over 100 adult flowering plants.

There has been an increase of pollinators each year.  This year to date, we have observed 19 Monarch butterflies.  Our wildlife populations have recovered and we now have several quail and rabbits.  Deer are abundant and we often observe bobcats, coyotes, racoons and skunks.  It is a birdwatching paradise.

We allow limited hiking, wildlife photography, birdwatching and native plant research by request.  The Kentucky Wildflower Farm will be offering seed from locally collected native plant species in 2015.