Photo Karen Graham.
Market vendor, Jill Williams, with her colourful booth at the July Farmer’s Market in Millbrook.
Living on her own on an isolated farm, Jill Williams can entertain herself. It can often seem not worth the effort to travel her long driveway that meanders through the majestic Baxter Creek pine plantation off Zion Line to make it to civilization when the weather is bad, so when the pandemic hit, Jill was unperturbed. In her idyllic environment surrounded by books, woods, streams, ponds and gardens, kept her distracted for a time, but eventually she needed a project. Inspiration was just outside her front door.
Jill’s home was purchased by her parents in 1961 but is still referred to by some as the McMahon farm. Millbrook can be like that. Jill appreciates the past, and her home would still be recognized by its previous owners, but the surrounding open fields have been transformed by mother nature, as trees and shrubs have taken over large swathes of the property.
Jill’s work as a gardener in the area keeps her busy from March until November, but she saves some time and energy for her own environment, nurturing an exuberant garden of flowers and vegetables that inspire her monthly gardening column, Common Ground, featured in this paper. Her style is laid-back, for while she might be asked to control plants in other people’s gardens, in her own, Jill likes to sit back and see what happens when plants are left to their own devices. The effect is a lively mix of plants where the strong multiply and pop up wherever the wind has blown them. They plants make gardening look easy. Late last summer, Jill’s Covid project took shape, as she began to harvest seed heads from her garden stalwarts. Only open-pollinated flowers that grow true from seed were chosen, and the plants had to be easy to grow and preferably have a bit of history. Bowls of seeds from plants including poppies, columbines, foxgloves, hollyhocks, nasturtiums and a few vegetables such as pole beans were scattered around her home through the fall as the seeds dried. Jill then turned her efforts to packaging her product.
The image for the seed packets of Foxglove Botanicals was designed by Millbrook resident Leni Rautiainen. Covid conditions complicated the printing process, but the labels arrived looking quite fitting for their contents.
Jill operates a booth at the Millbrook Farmers’ Market, where she sells garden plants, seasonal flowers, handmade soaps and now, seeds. Foxglove Botanicals will remain a cottage industry, helping gardeners select flowers that associated with the unrestrained and enthusiastic cottage garden style.
Jill’s father, the late Harry Williams, was a biologist, biology teacher and world authority on several plant species. When he and his wife bought the farm in 1961, the June 15th edition of the Millbrook Reporter (the community newspaper at the time) celebrated the event, saying “This summer sunflowers will again bloom in the long deserted garden of ‘The Old McMahon Place.’” A very prescient statement indeed. KG
