Welcome to Alchemy Farm
A decade-long ecological garden and environmental art project on Salt Spring Island.
Alchemy Farm on Salt Spring Island
Alchemy Farm began in 2015 with a simple intention: to grow flowers for bees and other pollinators.
What began as pollinator habitat gradually became a flower farm and a ten-year ecological garden and environmental art project—bringing together flowers, biodiversity, sound, art and experiments in how humans might enter into deeper relationship with the living world.
At Alchemy Farm, environmental artist Ingrid Koivukangas created the Alchemy Flower Music Garden and the Alchemy Farm Sequoia Grove as well as designed and planted pollinator gardens.
The original Alchemy Farm gardens are now under new stewardship, while the work they inspired continues through new gardens, art, and The Flower Mysteries.
The Flower Music Garden explored a unique collaboration between plants and technology—music created from the bio-energy of flowers themselves. While the original garden was created at Alchemy Farm, the Flower Music experience continues online, where visitors can listen to the music of select flowers through the virtual garden tour below.
The Alchemy Farm Sequoia Grove was established to provide sanctuary for endangered Sequoia trees, reclaiming part of a former hay field to create habitat for wildlife and pollinators and to form a future sacred circle of Sequoias.
I have had the most amazing experience! You are a beautiful flower yourself! I have learned soooo much from you. What a great birthday gift from my kinds!
Inspiring, touching. Beauty of the moment. Amazing discovery. Thank you for this unforgettable tour! Your vision and passion shine through and filled my soul.
Thank you so much for this beautiful experience! I will never forget the colours, scents and sounds of this magical garden!
Thank you for creating such an enchanting place for us to visit, enjoy the beauty and harmony of flowers and connect with each other in a beautiful and natural space.
This is an amazing place. You have made a wonderful garden with such beauty and variety—and to be able to hear the sounds of the flower’s energy was a unique sensory experience!
What a wonderful experience! …it was so nurturing to connect with the beauty of the farm, learn about the huge selection of flowers and plants ..overall, the experience was wonderful and I most certaintly give it 5/5.
Alchemy Farm began with flowers.
What started as growing flowers for bees and other pollinators gradually became a flower farm, and from that living relationship a wider body of work emerged.
The flowers were grown, observed, photographed, listened to and recorded. Over time, they gave rise to the Flower Music Garden, the Alchemy Flower Oracle, flower meditations and Flower Archetype work.
These works all grew from the same inquiry: what happens when we stop experiencing a flower only as something beautiful to look at and begin to meet it as a living presence?
Although the ten-year Alchemy Farm project has completed its cycle, the flower work continues.
The Flower Mysteries is where that work is still unfolding and inviting others to enter into relationship with the flower world for themselves.
Planting trees is one of the most important things we can do to help the environment. Trees are often described as the lungs of the planet, helping to clean the air we breathe and absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Sequoias are among the most powerful carbon-sequestering trees on Earth and can store enormous amounts of carbon over their long lifespans. They also provide habitat for birds, animals, and plants, help filter water, and have long been sources of medicine.
Sequoias are an endangered species, increasingly threatened by climate change and fire in their natural southern ranges. The Pacific Northwest offers conditions where these trees can grow and thrive, which is why a grove of Sequoias was planted at Alchemy Farm as a gesture toward the future. The original vision included the possibility of growing a permaculture food forest within the circle of Sequoias.
The project was made possible through generous patrons who sponsored trees in memory of loved ones. Trees were dedicated to: Fred & Marianne Hobbs • Kalliope Dom • Melissa Dom • Alexis Trudel • Adrian Dom • Haleigh Trudel • Doug & Rose Floyd • Linda Floyd • Ralph Dom • Jo Logan • Simon Webb • Ingrid Koivukangas and Robin Logan, creators of Alchemy Farm (center tree), and a tree for the new guardians of Alchemy Farm.
The Alchemy Farm Sequoia Grove was conceived as a long-term environmental artwork by award-winning environmental artist and co-creator of Alchemy Farm, Ingrid Koivukangas. Over time the grove and surrounding gardens will continue to grow and change, creating habitat for wildlife and contributing to the ecological richness of the landscape.
Magical place. Glad that mom and I joined this tour and workshop. Ingrid is very knowledgeable on flowers. Floral and nature lovers won’t be disappointed. Thank you.
A magical experience. I loved discovering the beauty and energy of the flowers. The oracle cars, meditation and flower music are powerful—these will stay with me long after my visit.
What a beautiful way to spend my birthday! The smells, bees, sun and flower music are so calming. I love the sounds of the Himalayan Honeysuckle, it’s my favourite. xo
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