Erin Hill Acres plants more than seeds - it sprouts memories for new generations.
A tree farm bought by the Garrard family in 2021 at the height of the pandemic is now a tourist destination, set to open for the 2023 season on June 14, just in time for Father's Day weekend.
“It’s a family thing - youth inspired to honour the next generation,” said farm manager Tyler Garrard.
“What we are trying to do is plant memory seeds for a new generation, focusing on families so they can bring their children here, and create new memories.”
Before becoming Erin Hill Acres, the site was known as Wintersinger Christmas Tree Farm, so it was no stranger to attracting seasonal visitors.
“The tree farm was operating for four decades. When we saw it was for sale, we decided that during COVID-19, we would try something different. And so, we bought this farm,” Garrard said.
From June until the end of December, Erin Hill Acres offers family experiences in every season.
In the summer months, guests can enjoy the children’s play area, pick their own lavender and sunflowers, hop on a wagon ride, join a beehive tour or a photography session, and relax for some wellness and meditation exercises.
During the winter months, the farm offers Christmas trees, wagon rides and holiday activities.
“Multi generations have come here to buy their Christmas tree. On our farm, we planted 20,000 baby Christmas trees to replenish the stock. But these trees will take about eight to 15 years to grow. We will always have trees available to sell, but we will be bringing them in from another farm, for now,” Garrard said.
“Our Christmas experience last year brought people out from all over Ontario. We had over 700 families visit for our Santa experience.”
Garrard says his family’s farming roots run seven generations deep in Ontario. And today, it continues to be a family affair on the farm.
“We all work together to come up with new ideas and offerings for our customers. My sister Jenny does social media, retail, design and the merchandising part of the farm,” Garrard said. “And my sister Chelsea, she comes from a culinary background, so she is involved with the creation of recipes and the development of our food and beverage offerings which is new for us this year.”
Erin Hill Acres will celebrate Father’s Day weekend on June 17 and 18 with live music from artists from across Wellington County.
“We have moonshine tasting from Elmira’s Murphy’s Law distillery. We have a beer garden from Orange Snail Brewers in Milton, and we have rodeo roping experiences from 4th Line Cattle Co. from Erin,” Garrard said.
“Right now, we are working on a wood-fired pizza oven, imported from Italy. So, we will be offering wood-fired pizza. We also have a dad joke competition on Father’s Day weekend, with some fun giveaways, and hot sauce tasting too.”
Many farms across the province are turning to agritourism as operating costs continue to rise.
“We’ve become an Instagram farm. We have people come from all over the province just to come and take pictures,” Garrard said.
Lavender farms have also evolved over the last decade. There are more than 10,000 lavender plants at Erin Hill Acres.
“We brought in a historic grain silo. This is the backbone of the beauty of our lavender farm fields. We encourage new generations to come here and cut their own lavender bouquets," Garrard said.
“We also plant sunflowers. We have hundreds of thousands in our fields. We are all about having unique set ups in our sunflower fields. We put some fun things in and amongst the sunflowers like a baby grand piano in the middle of a field of yellow that anyone can play.”
Chickens and goats roaming the fields are also new to the farm this year.
“People can feed the goats. We also have 150 rainbow trout in our pond that people can feed. And they jump like you wouldn’t believe,” Garrard said.
“People come here just to feed the fish with their kids because it is so cool. You toss some food into the pond, and the fish jump for it. Some jump right out of the water, and into the air to get the food. You see the flashes of colour as they jump. It’s really something.”
The farm’s retail shop offers a variety of gift ideas including mugs, fresh honey from the farm’s hives, kid’s toys and gardening items.
“It’s about getting out into the country, especially coming out of the pandemic. People just want to get out and stretch their legs,” Garrard said.
"In the summertime, people come out to get some fresh air and a bit of a taste of country."
For Garrard, it’s all about offering a family experience.
“For our family too, this is what Erin Hill Acres is all about. It's about participating and working together. We are stronger together and we enjoy time together. This is not a job. This is a lifestyle, and it’s a big part of our family,” Garrard said.
“This place is family-centric, family-friendly, and educational. People come here to relax, get some fresh air, have fun, and make new memories.”
For more information, visit erinhillacres.farm.
