Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Tucked away in the rural back roads of a Monticello neighborhood is a family-owned nursery and farm specializing in native Florida plants. This nursery, called Ashwood Homestead, is run by Richard and Janet Bailey, with “help” from their mischievous kitten, Penelope. Together, the couple has taken on all the tasks their farm requires, and the list is long!
Ashwood Homestead began for the Baileys in 2008 in West Virginia, where they were living at the time. They have always been very interested in what they call “plants with skills” – plants that have medicinal or culinary uses that are often overlooked by novice gardeners. Janet was excited by the idea that she could grow useful plants and says her journey to growing her own “plants with skills” began with growing and cultivating her own herbs for use in the kitchen. From there, she gradually explored some medicinal herbs and began to learn more and more about native plants and their special properties.
In 2016, the couple moved to Florida and built on what they had learned while exploring the hidden qualities of native flora. They developed a proactive mindset and were determined to learn how to do or make the things they wanted themselves, rather than simply accepting what was offered to them pre-made by others.
“We’ve learned over the years,” says Janet, “that it’s cheaper to learn a skill than to pay for a bespoke product. Anything worth buying is worth the effort of learning to do yourself, and once you think you know something, you can learn something completely new.”
Janet and her husband have applied this mindset to many different ventures, learning new techniques and crafts through online tutorials and trial and error. Over the years, the couple has taught themselves many different crafts, including woodworking, weaving, growing crops, and making many different products using pure ingredients straight from the nursery.
The list of products and ingredients you can make from native Florida plants is long, and at Ashwood Homestead, the Baileys make everything themselves. They primarily use herbs and native Florida plants and make a wide variety of edible products, including teas, keto-friendly spice blends, candied ginger, chicory coffee, herbal vinegars, syrups, and extracts for baking. They also make a variety of herbal remedies and therapeutic products, including salves, oils, and liniments that, depending on their ingredients, can relieve a range of minor ailments—some soothe insect bites, stings, and small cuts, while others can naturally repel insects before they sting.
“There are a number of ancient native herbs that have very useful properties,” says Janet. “For example, yarrow can help stop bleeding if you cut yourself while shaving or if you get small cuts in the garden. Nettle can help relieve allergy symptoms. Lemon balm can have a calming effect. Echinacea strengthens the immune system and passionflower promotes restful sleep and can relieve anxiety…”
Although their passion is fragrant herbs, Janet and her husband also engage in a number of other skills and crafts outside of the homestead’s plant life. When they’re not tending their gardens or processing ingredients for their products, Richard enjoys woodworking and carving. When he sees a design he likes, he learns to make it himself rather than buying it. This has allowed him to custom make several pieces of furniture that the couple enjoy in their home. He also carves men’s walking sticks and makes inkle looms for his wife, which she uses to create beautifully patterned bracelets and straps. The couple also occasionally sell these looms to local artisans and to those looking to get into the hobby.
When she’s not working on the homestead’s nursery, Janet enjoys engaging in many different craft projects. In addition to inkle weaving, she also makes her own flower pots using hypertufa techniques. She tends to switch up her hobbies as her interests and focus change, so the projects she tackles are never-ending.
Ashwood Homestead is growing and has just welcomed its first hive of bees into the nursery, which the Baileys say will help with pollination and hopefully provide home-grown honey in the future.
Ashwood Homestead will be open to the public from September 20th and will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 2pm. These hours will remain the same until Christmas, when the Baileys will take a short holiday break and plan to resume public visits from February to June. Visitors can purchase native plants, edible ornamentals, fragrant herbs and more for their gardens and purchase the produce, herbs and cooking mixes produced in the nursery’s gardens. They can also talk to Janet and Richard about the amazing properties of the local flora.
“We love talking to people who are interested,” says Janet. “It’s a satisfying feeling to know that you’re offering a product that’s the best we can do, when people not only use your product, but it works and is safe to use.”
In the meantime, people can enjoy their plants and produce locally at the Grower’s Market, which will resume on September 16 and will be held from 3-6 p.m. They plan to participate in many future community events here in Monticello as well as events in Crawfordville and Panacea. For more information about Ashwood Homestead, visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/baileyjanet2001/ or contact them directly at [email protected] or by phone at (850) 544-6645.
