Agri-Tourism
Experiences
- Take a guided tour of the property and gardens with your hosts, to orient yourself.
- Walk the circumference of hayfields on our 36 acre property.
- Walk the length of Monte Vista Drive, or perhaps the 2.5 km. (30 min.) into the Qualicum Beach town.
- Take in a demonstration.
- Watch the steps to haying the fields: mowing, tedding, raking, baling, trucking.
- Check out the essential farm equipment.
- Appreciate the resident rabbits, deer, and squirrels. Explore on your own.
Gardens
Rhododendron: Visit in April-June for peak rhododendron flowers. Stroll the two acres of paths, around ponds, a waterfall, perennials and 400+ rhododendrons.
Vegetable: Select salad ingredients from the field garden in June-September.
Orchard: Help harvest pears, apples, plums, peaches, grapes & walnuts, August into October annually.
Greenhouse: Experience the sowing of vegetables in spring: peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini, beets, spinach, beans, herbs; later the “hot house” in summer.
Bird Watching
Use the map and guides provided to sharpen your talents with bird watching & ornithology. Many birds arrive in haying season, but every season has its stars.
Spring:
- Violet-green Swallow
- Killdeer
- Western Tanager
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Rufous Hummingbird
Summer:
- Bald Eagle
- Northern Harrier
- Turkey Vulture
- Song Sparrow
- Rufous-sided Towhee
Autumn:
- Great Blue Heron
- Cooper's Hawk
- Pileated Woodpecker
- California Quail
- Northern Flicker
Winter
- Steller's Jay
- Dark-Eyed Junco
- Common Raven
- Winter Wren
- Greater White-fronted Goose
