Putting Down Roots – Prince Edward County style
Putting down roots – Prince Edward County style
By Carson Arthur
I’ve always been told that home is where the heart is, and mine is in Prince Edward County. It’s been more than 10 years living south of the 401 between Ottawa and Toronto, and my partner and I haven’t regretted a second of it. In fact, we gave up our city home and the cottage to put down roots on this piece of land.
While The County has exploded in popularity in the last while, I still have to regularly explain that it’s not an island on the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, the first time we came to The County, I had to get directions to this hidden gem because I didn’t know where I was going either.
We initially came for a weekend escape, to stay at a quaint B&B with the promise of excellent food and lots of great wineries to explore. We stayed, because the county is so much more.
I was raised on an apple farm at the foot of Georgian Bay. I grew up growing food and understanding the importance of caring for the land that gives so much back to us in so many different ways. To this day, farming and the agricultural community speaks to my soul. Driving down the county roads and seeing pastures with diverse crops, livestock grazing and even red barns with silos still brings me joy. On that first visit to PEC, I found a contentment that I hadn’t realized I was missing in my life.
Unfortunately, moving to The County wasn’t as easy as buying a home. I had to convince my partner, a self-proclaimed ‘citiot’ (an idiot from the city), that leaving everything behind was a step in the right direction to improving the quality of our lives. Now, it’s easy to highlight all the good stuff in PEC, so instead we created a list of everything we thought we’d have to give up by leaving the city. Once we had our list of things like high speed internet and fresh sushi, we did the research to really understand what we’d actually have to sacrifice for a country life. Several weekends spent drinking wine, talking to the locals and other transplants, quickly turned our list into a page of scratched out items. There wasn’t a single item that was holding us back, so we took the plunge, sold everything and bought a farm.
Little did we know that we were about to start on a journey of self-exploration with a lot of like-minded individuals as Prince Edward County became home. More than a decade later, I am still amazed at how many special spots this area has to explore. From enjoying secret beaches, to touring ostrich and alpaca farms, PEC has become a place where people are making their dreams come true. Myself included! In 2019, I opened my own little garden centre that focuses on helping to end food insecurity by working within my community to encourage homeowners to organically grow fruiting trees and vegetable gardens to share with those in need.
Visitors beware though… the more you discover about Prince Edward County, the less likely you will want to go home. Maybe you’ll even decide to put down roots here, just like I did.
*At Carson’s Garden + Market in Bloomfield, you’ll find rare, heirloom flowers, herbs and plants that produce vegetables traditionally used in culinary pursuits. www.carsonsgardenandmarket.com
*Throughout his 20-year television career, outdoor design & lifestyle expert Carson Arthur has taught homeowners how to raise the value of their homes through outdoor renovations, while maintaining a focus on environmentally friendly choices. He’s now digging into the rewarding world of rural pursuits and sharing the joy of the Prince Edward County lifestyle with everyone he meets.
