Allen’s Heirloom Homestead

About

Frank has been plant collecting and gardening for more than 70 years; Christina has been kitchen gardening for more than 40 years. We have lived at this farm/homestead, of about 10 acres, for 30 years, where we grow a huge variety of our own foods, year-round.

I grow about 1,500 feet of salad greens a year, lots of sweet potatoes, many fruits (including pomegranates, hardy kiwi, watermelons, cantaloupes, berries, pears, apples, Asian pears, Asian persimmons, blueberries, etc.). We have sheep, chickens, and rare breed turkeys that are integral in our system of totally natural pest control. A lot of flowers go in our kitchen gardens to encourage beneficial insects, as well as for beauty and some unusual crops for this area like eucalyptus tree, tea camelia (for

black tea), and colored cotton for spinning into yarn. We grow several rare varieties of ornamental flowers, shrubs, and trees. It is an example of a healthy, diverse, working homestead farm.

This garden’s estimated size is 5 acres.

This Garden Host reports the following Terrain Notes about the garden: There is flat terrain for most of the gardens. There are bluestone and brick pathways in the main gardens; it is somewhat accessible. There are grass lawns for walking around the ornamentals.

2026 Open Day Date: Saturday, May 16

Open Day Hours: 10–4