Inspired by nature and the changing seasons.

Of Field and Forest is a shop based online and in-person in Merrickville, Ontario. Shaped by the land we call home, we curate a collection of small treasures and whimsical gifts for fellow nature-lovers.

We also offer garden design and consultation services with a focus on native plants and wildlife habitat creation, based on 30+ years of experience. Whether you are starting with a blank slate or looking to rework an existing yard to create a more biodiverse outdoor space, our low-tech and hands-on approach will help you build the garden of your dreams.

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Our Story

karen

Morning bird.
Author. Artist. Acorn.
Collector.
Daughter of nettle and linden flowers.
Heart belongs to the field.
Forest leanings.

The Fields

In the fields behind our home in Merrickville, Ontario, there are old outbuildings. Split rail fences surround what was once pasture. And rocks - piles of them. Proof that this land was worked many moons ago.

And yet by the time we purchased our homestead in 2014, this land that would have fed families once upon a time had fallen subject to the invasive whims of tree species like buckthorn. Biodiversity was all but eliminated.

Determined to reverse this trend, we began on the long yet hope-filled task of working our land - creating pockets of biodiversity that expand each season. Space is made for different native species to thrive and with each consecutive growing season we work to slow the spread of invasive interlopers. Plantings such as serviceberry, elderberry and high bush cranberry are tucked into the blank spaces creating habitat as well as eventual food sources.

With each passing year our gardens expand, and not in the traditional row upon row sense. Inspired in part by the principles of Hugelkultur, raised garden beds take shape atop the marginal soil and bedrock. Orchard trees are planted into built up beds and then interplanted with herbs, perennials and shade loving greens. We experiment with some success balanced with equal amounts of failure - motivated to share our experiences with anyone who wishes to create a natural haven in their own outdoor space.

The Forest

In the years that we have called this spot home, it has occurred to me more than once that I wish we had started this particular adventure years earlier. Perhaps at no time is this sentiment more obvious than when talk turns to the planting of trees. The rewards of such processes are not noticed within the timeframe of a growing season, as I am used to with the vegetable garden experience. In fact, it is a process that requires me to do math involving numbers that find me a good deal older than I am right now. There is no instant gratification when it comes to a forest.

This gesture however, the act of planting trees, balances out the seasonal display of vegetable and flower gardening. I think that at its core, it is a gesture of hope. An act that firmly states a belief of the inherent good in the world.

And so, for every tree taken, we plant at least two.