If you were looking for a few acres to build a cottage and found a beautiful 101-acre property, what would you do with the extra land? That was the issue we faced in 2005.

We bought the property and decided to rent out about 60 acres to a local farmer. The farmer uses best practices to farm the land sustainably with minimal pesticide use. Thirty acres were left as a woodlot and wild area for the enjoyment of deer, wild turkey, foxes, and a family of osprey.

After building a house and planting a garden, about five acres were left to recreate a natural environment and habitat. When European pioneers such as Catherine Parr Traill arrived, the south shore of Rice Lake was covered in a tallgrass prairie. In 2008, we planted a prairie to recreate this type of habitat, which is now very rare in Ontario.

Tallgrass prairie consists of grasses such as big bluestem and Indian grass, which can grow over six feet tall, and flowers such as black-eyed Susan and bergamot. It supports a wide range of birds, bees and butterflies that need this specific habitat for food and shelter.

In 2007, we started collecting native woody plants, which developed into an arboretum of over 120 native Ontario trees, shrubs, and vines around the edges of the prairie.

The Oak Hills Farm Prairie was planted on May 18th, 2008, as a recreation of the Tallgrass Prairie, which used to exist along the shores of Rice Lake. It is situated on 2.7 acres of gently rolling hills, with spectacular views over Rice Lake between Port Hope and Peterborough.

The Oak Hills Farm Arboretum encircles the prairie. It was established in 2007/8 to demonstrate the range of native trees and shrubs that can be grown in southern Ontario. All the trees and shrubs in the arboretum grow wild in southern Ontario, although some are Carolinian species that normally only grow in the extreme southwest of the province. At present, many of the trees are only 2 – 3 feet tall, but they are very healthy and growing rapidly.

Prairie:

 An extensive area of flat or rolling, predominantly treeless grassland, especially the large tract or plain of central North America.

Tallgrass Prairie:

 Prairie dominated by tall grasses such as Big Bluestem and Indian Grass.

The prairie features the four main tallgrass prairie grasses (Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Little Blue Stem and Switch Grass), with Canada Wild Rye as a nurse crop. Seeds of fourteen typical prairie wildflowers, such as Bergamot, Beardtongue, Blazing Star, Showy Tick Trefoil, Skyblue Aster and Evening Primrose, were also planted at the same time. The aim is to recreate the typical natural prairie environment that existed at the site before it was used for agriculture.

Dog wearing a red coat in prairie, winter

Big bluestem, with Rice Lake in the distance

Arboretum:

A place where extensive woody plants are cultivated for scientific, educational and ornamental purposes.

The arboretum consists of over 100 native trees and shrubs arranged around the circumference of the prairie.

The trees and shrubs were initially selected based on their nativeness to the local area, but this was extended to include specimens of many of the Carolinian species native to areas of southwest Ontario, extending into the states of North and South Carolina. Many of these species are rare or endangered in Ontario, but with climate change, they may be able to extend their range further into southern Ontario.

Sumac, with white pine and oaks

Typical label

Sycamore leaf