Virginia Tulip Farms Draw Crowds for Spring Bloom Season

Family farms in Albemarle and Augusta counties turn tulip fields into seasonal attractions that connect visitors with agriculture.

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VA (RealVirginia) — In Virginia, spring is bringing more than warmer weather.

Two family farms are turning fields of tulips into seasonal destinations, drawing visitors from across the region and creating a new way to connect agriculture with the community.

At Chiles Peach Orchard in Albemarle County, Henry Chiles and his sister, Ally Whitmer, are carrying on a family farming legacy that spans more than 100 years.

Just over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Augusta County, thousands of tulips are also helping continue the legacy of Bill Patterson’s family operation, Endless View Farms.

Their biggest weekend is expected to draw more than 1,500 visitors, all coming out to see the tulips in full bloom.

Both families say much of the work for this year’s festival began last fall, long before the first flowers opened in the spring.

Related Stories
“Flat FFA members” help students share life and agriculture across states
To celebrate the release of A Beautiful Life, Dailey & Vincent are giving one fan the chance to win an unforgettable Nashville experience!
“Miss Ruby” continues to shape generations through service
Rural population growth supports long-term stability of the ag workforce.
Wilder Blue Ranch in Louisiana brings rare Clydesdale horses to the South, offering visitors a unique farm experience and hands-on ag education.
Record auction prices accompany more than $1.4 million in scholarships for young exhibitors in Mississippi.

Knoxville native Neal Burnette-Irwin is a graduate from MTSU where he majored in Journalism and Entertainment Studies. He works as a digital content producer with RFD News and is represented by multiple talent agencies in Nashville and Chicago.


LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

UT Institute of Agriculture reporter Charles Denney visited a class at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, where students in the School of Natural Resources traded traditional classrooms for hands-on outdoor learning.
Industry leaders gather in Mexico City to strengthen trade and showcase product quality.
The annual event brings together vintage equipment, live demos and thousands of visitors.
Accessing land is one of the biggest challenges facing the next generation of farmers and ranchers.
The behind-the-scenes role helps guide jump crews as they protect rural communities.
Each spring, students from across Crawford County visit Arnold Family Farm for an annual u-pick strawberry festival that connects kids with agriculture.
Rural Lifestyle & Entertainment Shows
“California Bountiful” brings you up close with the people, places, food and farms that make California so delicious! The weekly show delivers a fun, entertaining and educational look at California’s farm to fork lifestyle, and everything in between.
Each week, “Rural Heritage” on RFD Network features stories of farmers borrowing from yesterday to do today’s work.
“Today’s Wild West” is a documentary-style, half-hour TV seres on all-things-Western: horseback adventures, cattle drives, dude ranches, Western art, artisans, music, movies, historic sites, Native American culture and more.
Join host Allen Treadwell and the Hayden Outdoors crew plus landowners across the country as we bring you exciting adventures on the land with the most amazing properties for sale and learn what it means to broker these magnificent properties.
“Green Acres” meets “Home Improvement” in this refreshing, informative unscripted lifestyle series depicting the hilarious adventures of a suburban family gone rural.