The Native Plant Difference

OUR STORY

Yellow Springs Farm Native Plant Nursery and Artisanal Goat Cheese Dairy, founded by Catherine and Al Renzi, is located in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. The farm and nursery consists of an historic farmhouse, dairy barn, a springhouse with pond on 8 acres of land. Orginally a dairy farm 150 years ago, we purchased the farm in 2001 protecting it from future development with a conservation easement.

Our focus on conservation landscaping comes from the knowledge that preservation of our environment, including waterways and woodlands in both our residential and rural areas is necessary to insure the future health of our planet and ourselves. Re-establishing native habitats with native plants and environmentally sensitive methods is a way to “conserve our landscapes” for the benefit of our water, air and environment.

In past centuries, much of our Yellow Springs Farm was pasture for cow grazing. When the dairy farm business was closed decades ago, no work was done to reestablish the native species that were present prior to the dairy farm. Over the past half-century or so, nature took its course, and many alien species invaded. Some invasive plants, such as Autumn Olive and Norway Maples, were introduced by people who did not understand the long-term impact of their plant selections.

We wished to change this landscape, but were limited by the lack of native plants available for sale. Our native plant propagation , sales, and landscape service offerings was born from our need and passion for land conservation

If you tour the property , you will see display areas that we have created, including a meadow, a rain garden, a wetland garden, pond and woodland area. We are restoring and enhancing all with native plants. We use these demonstration areas for client tours as well as for our ongoing scientific research studies on native plants and their interaction in our environment. We hope Yellow Springs Farm will contribute to the science as well as the art of environmental education and conservation landscaping.

Awards and Honors

Chester County Day tour site—2002 and 2006
Land Conservation Award from French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust—2003
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Distinguished Garden—2008

USDA Value-Added Grant 2008
DEP Energy Farmers Grant 2008