Hello! Nice to meet you and welcome! I'm Amy and I'm the sole farmer here at Forest Elf Farm. Our farm is a 2.25 acre parcel located in rural Port Townsend. We are surrounded by a second growth Pacific Northwest coastal forest just a couple miles from Discover Bay and the Salish Sea.
Considered a micro-farm by size, the fields I tend to are wildly abundant in flowers and teeming with all forms of life thanks to organic and regenerative farming techniques. I just love it! Deer, raven, owl, woodpecker, vole, squirrel, newt, snake and lizard--they are all neighbors here. Occasionally a rare sighting of a mountain lion as well!
My approach to growing things has always been a focus on diversity and interplanting. Like the natural system a food forest is trying to mimic, rarely will you see a row that doesn't include perennials, annuals, bulbs and small shrubs tucked in. Plants are encourage to self sow in place. In this way I am able to grow so much more in such a small space and can take advantage of living mulch and water conservation and attracting all forms of natural pest prevention. I have come to believe that plants truly grow stronger with diverse neighbors. Like us, they don't want to be isolated! And the insects and birds love it too.
I live here with my husband and a bevy of doggies. In fact, the farm takes its name from our original "forest elf" named Tilda. She was a rescued Swedish Vallhund from Canada and truly embodied the peace and joy one receives when surrounded by nature. 
Farming is recent for me but my relationship with plants has been lifelong. Like so many of us plant nurturers, childhood experience and memories are the source of our fascination and interest. I had parents who loved gardening and have had the opportunity to learn from them and the native woods and forest surrounding our two homes growing up in Southern Wisconsin and then later the Matanuska Valley of Alaska.
As an adult, my love of growing things led me on the path of horticulture first learning on the job in retail nurseries and then later by continuing my education and teaching in the non-profit world. Working side by side with extraordinary mentors and continuing my education through trade orgs, apprenticeship and community college has led me down a path of many subjects--herbal wildcrafting, beekeeping, food preservation, permaculture, arboriculture, plant propagation and landscape design.
Then there is my background in the visual arts. My BA degree is actually in Art History. Not content to just write about art, I really wanted to live a creative life so I trained first as a photographer and then found my medium in oil painting, particularly in portraiture. I have always loved color and pattern and truly consider grouping flowers together as a form of painting in nature. It is so satisfying when a harmonious visual statement comes together! And as working in the horticultural world can be so seasonal, I had for many years free-lanced in department store visual display and had the privilege of working with a textile designer as an archivist for a historical textile collection that included pieces as old as the 18th century. There is no doubt that all of this experience informs my approach and the choices I make in growing beautiful plants and flowers.
If you have read this far....thanks for sticking with me! There is one thing I would like to add: Growing and nurturing beauty here on the farm has been an absolute gift for me. And truly, my greatest pleasure is to share this gift and the comfort that flowers can bring with my community. I love what happens when you present someone with flowers...there is nothing else like it. So grateful! Thanks again for visiting!
Portrait photo used by permission, copyright 2024 Nicole Witham, @farmernicole
