Summer arrives with a great deal of excitement.  The development of this website and the first walk-through of the orchard prove to be two important firsts.

July proved to be an exciting time for the Wilbourn House Orchard.  Our very first community walk-through saw around 15 visitors.  I walked through the trees, highlighting important points about each one.  Visitors were amazed at the number of grafts on the trees.  Most had no experience with grafting, but were very interested

Many saw varieties that they had at home, but also unique southern heirloom varieties with names like Cathead, Hollow Log, Caney Fork Limbertwig, Flat Fall Cheese, among others.  The orchard is home to almost 200 varieties including grafts over 45 trees.

A table was set up with examples of orchard journals, grafting tools, grafting methods, and a “test your knowledge” quiz.  Many commented on the detail in the journal pages.  Those pages included annual drawings, detailed information about bloom time, harvest time, fruit count, and pests for each tree.

Other books had drawings of each tree to identify the position of each graft.  Notes were made in the margin during walk-throughs, and transferred to a master list periodically.

Honestly, my documentation has gotten to be a bit of an obsession, but I love the detail.  It helps me to keep everything straight.

Contact me through the contact page to arrange a personal walkthrough.  The orchard does not currently have open hours for the public.