Business & Tech

Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

Our latest trek to a Hidden Gem is pleasing to both the eyes and the nose.

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Just yards off a state highway, Foster Hill Farm is an exquisite destination for tomatoes, peppers, hanging baskets and herbs, and one can even sneak in a visit with a donkey.
Just yards off a state highway, Foster Hill Farm is an exquisite destination for tomatoes, peppers, hanging baskets and herbs, and one can even sneak in a visit with a donkey. (Tim Jensen/Patch)

STAFFORD, CT — Thousands of vehicles traveling Route 190 in Stafford zip past the John E. Julian Heritage Park daily. Little known to them, just a few hundred feet past the gazebo on Stafford Street is a gorgeous, immaculately-maintained 110-acre farm whose owners combine their love of horticulture and animals into a destination spot called Foster Hill Farm.

Karl and Kim Milikowski bought the property at 21 Stafford Street, which includes a 2-acre pond, in 2008. They named their business after the Foster family, which owned and farmed the land for 200 years, and in 2015, the couple opened a garden shop.

The selection of products available at Foster Hill Farm is staggering. From hanging baskets with thunbergia, scented geraniums, over 80 varieties of herbs and basil and more than 40 types of specialty peppers - nearly everything desired by those with a green thumb may be found here.

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Most prominent are the 130 varieties of tomatoes. Many of them have been winners in All America Selection, a competition among growers.

"A lot of people come from a long way to get these tomatoes, because you can't find them elsewhere," Kim Milikowski said during a recent visit by Patch. "Most of them are heirlooms, and we have a few hybrids that are favorites of ours."

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A unique aspect of the farm is the presence of 50 donkeys. The Milikowskis have developed a breeding program with proven bloodlines from across the United States and Canada. They breed reds, spots, grays and blacks, and on occasions when a handler is present, visitors may be allowed to get up close to the animals.

The garden shop at Foster Hill Farm is open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during May and September. More information may be obtained at 860-729-6310 or by emailing info@fosterhillfarmandgarden.com.

Foster Hill Farm owners Kim and Karl Milikowski.
Tomatoes are aplenty at the farm, with 130 varieties offered.
A greenhouse filled with hundreds of peppers and tomatoes.
Among the 50 donkeys at the farm are Apricot and her foal Frankie. All photos by Tim Jensen/Patch

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to tim.jensen@patch.com.

Other columns in this series:

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