A Unique Adventure in Agritourism
Fort Hill Farm and Quentessential Gardens

Fort Hill Farms is located at: 260 Quaddick Road Thompson, CT 06277 Phone: 860-923-3439> Fort Hill Farms Quintessential Gardens Email:herrootsrundeep@forthillfarms.com Hours: Daily 9am- 6pm Click Here for Map

Peter and Kristin Orr are not your ordinary, everyday farmers. They are people possessed of seemingly boundless energy, superb creativity and clever providers of an agritourism experience matched by few other such attractions. Using a botanical term, this is a very "variegated" farm with a great deal to do, see and learn; emphasis on "learn."

Peter and Kristin Orr, owners of Fort Hill Farms

When I first spoke to Kristin Orr, she was on her cell while picking blueberries from "The Patch," the place where anyone visiting Fort Hill Farm and Quintessential Gardens goes to pick their own blueberries.

She was clearly multitasking, something that seemed hardly alien to her. It’s a way of life she thoroughly enjoys. As she picked away, we had a great conversation.

What impressed me most of all was Kristin’s energy level. It was positively tornadic, her speech rapid, saturated with enthusiasm for what she does and a determination not to let go of "wide open spaces."

Scientists will tell you a person can think about only one thing at a time. Well, they need to talk to Kristin, because they’re mistaken. She could switch from topic to topic the way a hockey player can poke check, shoot and score, and that was one of my first questions for her.

Her husband Pete is a stocky, in-shape blonde about the same size as the Boston Bruin’s great, Bobby Orr, and since the last name was a match, I had to ask. "Any relation"? "No," Kristin, smiled, but she quickly swept the conversation to friends of theirs whose name happens to be Gretzky. She then giggled about what fun it would be if she made dinner reservations for the Orrs and Gretzkys.

She then moved on to discussion of the farm’s history, her blueberry patch and her Lavender Labyrinth and the perennial plants they sell, the courses they offer to teach people how to take care of perennials, their remarkable Corn Maze Adventure and their herd of organic dairy cows, and…on and on.

History

It was on May 16, 1683 that the King of England bestowed a land grant upon Sir Robert Thompson in what would come to be known as Thompson, Connecticut. While he never set foot on the land himself, he dispatched his five children to claim and settle the land. Used to demarcate the land’s boundaries are wonderful, antique stonewalls that remind New Englanders today of the genesis of the agrarian culture that so elegantly characterized the region.

Thompson’s children had marked off their own plots and began to farm. As time passed, John Doane moved to Thompson in 1883, bought the five properties, and unifying them, dubbed the acreage, "Fort Hill Farms," its name to this day.

Previously with the Chicago & Pacific Union Railroad, he opted for a more sedate lifestyle and started a dairy farm. Bruce Ream, founder of U.S. Steel, visited Thompson and decided he liked the town well enough to buy land there and stay.

He and Doane hired Italian stone masons, who, for five cents a day, built beautiful stone walls, some of which were unearthed by the Orrs, who once again brought light to a 350-foot long by 12–foot high barn foundation in pristine condition, save for the side that bordered the road. Some stones from that had been pilfered over the ages.

Just as the Orrs are no ordinary farmers, their farm is no ordinary farm. Not only do they sell their milk, which contains no hormones, no antibiotics, and is minimally pasteurized, to the likes of Cabot, Agrimark and through their Connecticut cooperative, The Farmer’s Cow, they offer a number of fun things to do, each with a learning experience attached.

The entire endeavor is very cleverly planned out. It is in every way not only the Quintessential Garden and farm, but the quintessential form of agritourism, an attraction category that’s blossoming into a shiny new form of "things to do" for those who visit New England.

Kristin and Peter, together with members of three generations of family, run an enormous spread, some 350 acres’ worth. Besides milk and blueberries, you can buy an array of perennial plants from them.

Kristin talks quickly about them as she ticks off the names of the various plants she offers.

Perennial Nursery

She explains that Quintessential Gardens offers unusual varieties of homegrown perennials, perennials that don't take a lot of care, and perennials that hardly need any water.

"But, she says, "we don’t let you pick what you want and just send you on your way with one of those little plastic tags shoved into the soil in the container. We take the time and explain how to keep new organic plants healthy and growing as they should, free from pesticides and herbicides," she says, and then let’s her interest in the environment shine through. "We want to be the generation that makes a difference." She and her family are holding up their part of that bargain.

The Perennial Nursery is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. In addition to the education you’ll get when you buy plants, the Orrs take things one step further with the 2009 Herbal Education Series.

According to one of two Web site the Orrs run, Quintessential Gardens, "the 2009 Herbal Education Series at Fort Hill Farms is an empowering, educational encounter that enables those who attend to connect with and honor Nature. (The second Web site provides information about Fort Hill Farm.)

Michael Ford, a botanist, herbalist, and Pharmacognosist, uses his MA in teaching to edify students about herbalism to expand their awareness of the many and significant benefits provided by herbs.

"The Essence of the Herbalism Apprentice Program combines hands-on experience with classroom learning and field study," the site explains. "Our Apprentice Program is designed to teach you to identify plants in the wild, how to make your own herbal products & your own herbal medicine! The program is oriented towards the beginner and intermediate herbalist, but the 2009 session will be for the Advanced Herbalist."

"Our PRIMARY FOCUS will be to enhance a deep loving relationship with the Earth, so that we can walk gently, in harmony and balance with all of life. If this is the year you wish to enter the fascinating world of herbs, register early to reserve your place."

You do need to remake a reservation, the instructions for which can be found on the the classes page with the course descriptions and class dates. You can also contact Kristin directly at: 860-923-3439 to reserve a spot.

Lavender: "Can Make any Crusty Old Gardener Think Sweet Thoughts"

While all of this is of great interest to Kristin, it all slides to second place behind her passion for lavender. She offers a variety of applications for this stress-busting plant. "It’s a tension easer," she explains.

"We tell people to stand amongst our 15,000 lavender plants and breathe deeply," she says as if her description is providing her with a moment of relaxation. "We tell people who come to envision purple fields in Provence, a cottage garden in the Cotswolds, cupboards stacked with fragrant sun-dried linens.

"Lavender’s penetrating, clean fragrance can make any crusty old gardener think sweet thoughts," she grins. "July is definitely the best month for the color, the luscious scent, and the profuse blooms!"

Not only has she harnessed the power of the plant, she’s come up with recipes that include delicious lavender buds and even lavender ice cream.

An A -"Maze"-ing Education

Fort Hill Farms has an absolutely unique corn maze that’s due to open on August 22 this year, but it’s much more than just a maze one tries to navigate through as quickly as possible. It’s an educational experience that nurtures both body and mind, and hopefully helps someone to cross the environmental Rubicon to commit him or herself to the needs of a living, breathing planet.

To the Orrs, it’s the Fort Hill Farms Corn Maze Adventure and it’s designed to be an agricultural learning quest. The maze theme is "Building awareness about the nature of food!"

The entrance fare for adults is $12, and for children under 12, it’s $10, more than manageable fees for the education one gains in the field while navigating their way through the maze. (Groups of 20+ must call in advance for special scheduling and discounts.)

The design for this year’s maze is a cow and her calf. The main maze is the cow. And getting through the maze provides a healthy walk. One is enlightened throughout about farming, where milk comes from, and how The Farmer's Cow is working to save a way of life that could be lost. Dairy farms are important to Connecticut," Kristin says, her tone suddenly serious. "They save wide-open spaces, something of considerable importance to all farmers." She’s right.

Dairy farms throughout New England have been closing down at an alarming rate. That’s due in part to who controls milk pricing. Like just about everything else, the folks on Wall Street poured milk into the commodity markets where anything can and often does go wrong.

The "middle men" carve out a hefty slice, often considerably larger than the farmers’ share, and while Kristin doesn’t bring that up, it is a challenge to dairy farmers who are getting $11 per hundred weight (pounds) as this is being written. For a small dairy farmer, it’s not nearly enough to pay the bills.

But here, the Orrs have been clever. When you enter the maze, you are given a 4-page game sheet. You walk the paths looking for clues about why locally grown food and the "slow-food movement" is so beneficial, and why it leads to healthy families.

In the maze, you will encounter 30 desks, which have the answers you need for your game sheet. The Orrs encourage people to work together to meet the Maize Quest Challenge!

One thing was abundantly clear throughout our exploration of this enormous, clever and very well executed learning experience. Kristin is no ‘crusty farmer’. Her enthusiasm for what she and her family do is infectious, but not sustainable for the unindoctrinated. Fortunately, she shares her secret energy reservoir.

"We offer a class on how to get our energy!" Kristin says proudly. "Laura Ely from Inward Health in Mystic teaches a class called ‘Eating for Energy.’

"Unfortunately, this year’s class was held on June 6th," Kristin says. "But you can learn about who Laura is and what she teaches by visiting Integrative Nutrition."

Pick Your Own Organic Blueberries

As we neared the conclusion of our discussion, a blueberry picker arrives. Laura walks over to help her get set up, but whispers to me, "When you have energy, you can do anything you want!"

It’s abundantly clear that the Orrs are not only doing what they want, but they love what they do. Fortunately, it’s a gift that can be shared by a visit to Fort Hill Farms, in Thompson, Connecticut, where you can visit where the calves are kept (Kristin says that the way they bring up their calves makes them as much as 30% larger than those raised conventionally in barns). Then there’s her Lavender Labyrinth, her perennial plants and her Blueberry Patch, where you can pick your own.

We often hear it said that some people are "down to earth." But in the case of the Orr family, not only are they down to earth, they’re excited by what they do and anxious to share their knowledge and enthusiasm. They are in a uniquely spiritual way very much a part of the soil they work, and that’s what makes this a true gem in the rapidly expanding agritourism industry. As such, it’s a must stop for anyone interested in an agrarian way of life.

The Orrs provide substantial inspiration by building a remarkable template for the farms of the future, especially as the farm’s role in agritourism broadens.

It’s no surprise to me that both Yankee magazine and The New York Times have done not one, but two stories each about this extraordinary farm.

You can check the map to see where Thompson, Connecticut is and how to make it a stop on your trip through New England.