Saturday, December 24, 2016

Our Christmas Family Tradition

For the past fifty years we have harvested greens for wreaths and garland as well as our family Christmas tree from the fields of the farm.  Years ago, when Kingsley's father ran the farm, he planted Christmas trees.  Since then we have cut and pruned trees many times over.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Thanks to everyone for all your wonderful support and votes!


Thanks for all your votes supporting our farm in the GreenerFieldsTogether, Cultivating Change Grant.   It is with all this support that we are one of the finalist and will know the outcome in January.  Fingers crossed!

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Vote for Us to Get a Greener Fields Together Grant


We put together a grant and it got approved to be voted on by Greener Fields Together.  Now we need to show that we have community support.  Take a look at our grant on the voting page here:
When asked to login, just put in your name and email.  You can vote once a day.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Madison Plein Air Painters

The night may have produced below freezing temperatures, but undaunted, the Madison Plein Air Painters were here early morning to paint the frosty fields.






Our winter work has begun.

Friday, September 23, 2016

Summer Weddings at Barberry Hill Farm

Autumn has officially arrived but here's a look back at some Summer Weddings on Barberry Hill Farm.

Taylor and Julian
photos courtesy of Ely Brothers Photography


Friday, September 16, 2016

Mid September at the Farm


Mid-September at the Farm featured both the usual cast of characters and some wonderful guests.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Last(ish) CSA of the Season - a couple more weeks


Today's CSA, from our wonderful members picking up their shares to the color of the produce we pulled out of the ground, reminds me why and how much I will miss the 2016 summer CSA.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Pistou Soup Recipe

Our Farm Stand
I decided to make some pistou soup today.  As with so many dishes, the fresher the vegetables the better.

And this is the recipe I gave for the Connecticut Farm to Table Cookbook. Learn more here: <http://www.connecticutfarmtablecookbook.com>. 
Or order it here: 


Monday, August 15, 2016

View from the Field - DATF 2016

Five lovely evenings of Dinners at the Farm.  Over 200 guests each night enjoyed delicious food prepared by Jonathan Rapp and his crew from River Tavern.



Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Dinners at the Farm Prep


We are so excited for the upcoming Dinners at the Farm, August 10th through 14th.  Here are some behind the scenes prep shots from past years.


Thursday, July 28, 2016

Sunday, July 10, 2016

A Variety of Flowers (and other living things)

A walk around the farm reveals quite a few types of flowers, many of which are for sale at the stand, as well as a few other varieties of living things.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Sunday, June 19, 2016

The Harbinger of Summer

Foxglove...every year their purplish/pinkish flowers with speckled throats let me know that spring is indeed over, and summer has begun.




Tuesday, June 7, 2016

June Wedding at Barberry Hill Farm







Roosevelt Dime




Always delicious food catered by Jonathan Rapp and his crew from River Tavern


Wedding cake by Hen and Heifer

Wishing all the best to this incredible couple - Kris and Joe!

Monday, May 30, 2016

Prettiest Place In the Country



In the June/July 2016 issue of Farm and Ranch Living, Barberry Hill Farm was selected for their "Prettiest Place In the Country"article.
We are in direct competition with food conglomerates that source products from throughout the world.  Certainly we have conversations like, "No, I'm sorry, melons are not a spring crop" and "No, we do not grow lemons or any other citrus."
But many customers are looking for high-quality food and flowers that they can watch grow every time they drive by the farm to balance out what they buy in the chain stores. We provide that. 
- Kingsley Goddard, Quoted in Farm and Ranch Living
  

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Bee Hive Intervention

Nephrology Researcher by Day;  Entomologist/Bee Keeper in his Spare Time. 
This has not been a great decade for bees.
And one person noted that some lilac bushes - that every other year had attracted hundreds or thousands of bees - have been completely quiet so far this year.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Earth Day 2016: Comic vs. Lyrical



“Compared to the naturalist, the gardener never fell head over heels for nature.  He's seen her ruin his plans too many times for that.  The gardener has learned, perforce, to live with the ambiguities - that she is all neither all good nor all bad, that she gives as well as takes away.  Nature's apt to pull the rug out from under us at any time, to make a grim joke of our noblest intention.  Perhaps this explains why garden writing tends to be comic, rather than lyrical or elegiac in the way that nature writing usually is...”
- Michael Pollan, Second Nature


Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Photographs From Our Archives: Lambing Season


If it weren't for lambing and sugaring, I'd never make it through this time of year.  
- Reeve Linbergh, quoted in Richard Brown's The View from the Kingdom.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Meet the New WWOOFers


As you visit the farm, you will notice two new faces, Justin and Nicola come to us from Malaysia and Connecticut,  through the World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms program, and will be working here through the summer.

Many hands make, well, less heavy work.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

To sign up for the Barberry Hill Farm 2016 CSA...

Photographs of Previous Years

We are now accepting enrollment into our 2016 CSA program. Please contact us at csa@barberryhillfarm.com for enrollment form and information.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Dinners at the Farm, August 10-14, Part I (Dinner Prep)


We will again be hosting Dinners at the Farm this year - and reservations have already started booking up fast.  For ticket information, click on this link:
Here are some photographs of the dinner prep from past years:

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Barberry Hill Farm featured in Connecticut Food & Farm "Weddings on the Farm" Winter 2016 Issue



We are thrilled to be featured in Connecticut Food & Farm's Winter 2016 Issue!  Read the article here
Thank you Winter Caplanson for the beautiful pictures and great write up!


Saturday, January 9, 2016

Barberry Hill Farm included in GetawayMavens Top 20 Destination List for the Northeast

Barberry-Hill-Farm-Madison-CT

Things To Do In Clinton and Madison, CT

VISIT: Barberry Hill Farm, Madison; If you’re looking for eggs warm from the henhouse, if you need a bunch of flowers cut for your 4’ vase, if you’re in the market for organic produce or just want to stand among sheep, cows and chickens to feel like a farmer for a few minutes, come to Kelly and Kingsley Goddard’s 25 acre working farm.  Recently heralded in New York Magazine as a great place for weddings, Barberry Hill is as rustic and authentic as it gets, and if you arrive during a busy time, you may be put to work.  Former High School English teacher Kingsley took over his Dad’s farm – what he describes as a “typical farm at the turn of the century” after his Dad passed away. It’s a fascinating look at a vanishing way of life.  Informal tours offered, but call first.

http://www.getawaymavens.com/top-20-destinations-in-northeast-usa/

Thank you Getawaymavens!