A beautiful day in the orchard
Regina has lived in historic Brownsburg for 14 years along with her partner Paul, son Matt, dogs Beau and Freya, and Wilson our cat. The orchard features a diverse planting of fruits, grafted varieties, and old Southern heirloom apples..
Ever wondered what someone means when they use the term BRIX? Degrees Brix is a measure of the dissolved sugar content in a liquid. In this context, it can be used to measure the sweetness of a fruit While sweetness is often the first measure of good tasting fruit, other factors like amount of […]
Making Maggie’s Orchard is shared by permission of Andy Smith who proves that even the making of an orchard can be a thing of beauty. I hope you find it as inspiring as I have.
Wilbourn House Orchard celebrated their most successful grafting season ever! Classes were filled with enthusiastic grafters who were quick to learn and demonstrated great talent! Many have noted that their grafts are already showing success. Participants were able to select their preferred varieties and many grafted more than one tree. Some selected a variety of […]
The Wilbourn House Orchard hosted another grafting event where the participants worked hard at lining up cambium. The result–a cabin full of grafted trees ranging from Black Twig to Baja Marisa to Porter. A great time was had by all. The event concluded after a spirited tour of the orchard. There are just two more […]
This past Saturday saw an enthusiastic group of grafters at the Wilbourn House Orchard in Brownsburg, VA. 14 apple trees were grafted on dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstock with a variety of apples ranging from crabs to cooking apples to unusual old southern varieties. Spaces are available for the remaining three classes. Register on-line at www.wilbournhouseorchard.com […]
We had so much fun! Regina is very knowledgeable and led a great class. I signed up a group of 5 to attend and it worked out great. We’re all excited to see our apple trees grow! Thanks again for sharing your expertise!
- Sara
My husband and I had a great time learning how to graft! Regina is so knowledgeable and helpful, and a very positive teacher. We learned a lot about grafting, local issues with apple trees, and how to best set our little trees up for success. We left inspired to do more. Thank you!
- Kate S.
The Wilbourn House Orchard is located on main street in the village of Brownsburg, Virginia. We are in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where farmhouses, barns, cattle, and breathtaking scenery are just around the next bend.
This site is more than just photos and a few notes. It is a heartfelt story of following something that I love which has evolved over many years. A process that has persisted through heartaches and happiness. The story of a family who gives me space and encouragement and the ability to pursue something that I have always wanted to do.
I hope that it serves as inspiration for you that all things are possible. Just like everyone, I started with one tree, and then another, and, well….a lot more. I had little knowledge or tools or mentors. Just a passion to start something on my own that would grow and even thrive.
I had never grafted. I had never put together a webpage.
and here we are.
Why Wilbourn House? Our home is named for Thomas and Nannie Wilbourn who built the home here in 1885. Thomas’ father William Wilbourn invented the Wilbourn Saddle, and Thomas worked with his father in Brownsburg as a saddler and harness maker.
This is a wonderful photo of Thomas and Nannie Wilbourn taken in 1882, several months before their marriage. My home was built by them in 1885. The photo was taken by Michael Miley, a well known photographer from the area who was best known for his photo of Robert E. Lee on Traveller.
Another passion of mine is finding out the history of my home and those homes around me. At my local courthouse desk I ask “Is it possible to get a copy of their wedding certificate from 1882? If so, how long would it take?”
The answer “Just as long as it takes me to walk over to the printer and get it.”
Isn’t life amazing!
