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VALLEY VIEW Birdsong Orchards is located off of Lakeview Road in Watsonville.
Springblossoms
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By JOHANNA MILLER
Eight-and-a-half years ago, Nadine Schaeffer and her husband, Jason Wehmhoener moved to a rural eightacre property off of Lakeview Road in Watsonville.
The couple, who had both grown up in farming communities in the Midwest, were looking for a change after working for years at tech careers in Silicon Valley.
“We watched the fruit trees get cut down to build really ugly office buildings,” Schaeffer said. “There came a time when we were like, ‘We’ve got to do something other than this.’ And I’m so sad about climate change—angry, honestly … I needed to put my energy somewhere else.”
When they bought the farm, it had been abandoned since the 1980s. While it did have some fruit trees, as well as a close groundwater supply, the land itself had gone fallow.
Johanna Miller Johanna Miller
Johanna Miller
“There were literally mountains of garbage everywhere,” Schaeffer said. “Eleven garbage trucks worth. The owners had dug holes and put trash right into the earth. And nothing worked in the house … the electricity, sewage, nothing.”
Today, Schaeffer and Wehmhoener live at what is now Birdsong Orchards, a sprawling farm home to 200 varieties of fruit trees, more than 100 varieties of roses, and a small menagerie of cats, dogs, chickens, llamas, an alpaca, and two emus, some of whom were rescued from the CZU Lightning Complex Fires in 2020. IN BLOOM Birdsong Orchards rose U-Pick is open Saturday and Sunday by appointment only.
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The farm is open to visitors for U-Pick roses on Saturdays and Sundays, by appointment only. With Mother’s Day approaching, Schaeffer said they expect an uptick in visitors.
“Mother’s Day here is always a wonderful day here,” she said. “Lots of people bring their mom, their partners … It's just a great time.”
It was four years ago that Schaeffer decided to start planting roses. At first, she thought she would sell them to the floral and wedding industry. But Covid hit just as they started to mature.
“Suddenly nobody was having big weddings,” she said. “But then a friend asked me: ‘Can I just come by and pick some roses, and give you money?’ and I realized … This is it.”
Schaeffer said that she considers three factors when deciding what rose variety to plant: fragrance, disease resistance, and the fullness of the flower.
“I like roses that have a lot of petals, that are really big and fluffy,” she said.
Birdsong’s rose venture continues to grow, which is why it remains reservation-only. They host no more than five guests per hour, giving them the opportunity to enjoy a nice quiet stroll through the fields.
“U-Pick has truly been the most enjoyable thing,” Schaeffer said. “People are just happy when they come here. You can’t go wrong with roses. Everyone loves them. Most rose fields … it’s about ‘You can look, but don’t you dare touch.’ Here, you can touch and cut whatever you want, take what you like. Here’s your bucket, and have at it!”
But Birdsong is more than just flowers. The orchard, located at the top of the property, includes pears, apricots, plums, peaches, figs, mulberries, cherries, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, walnuts, mixed citrus and other specialty fruits.
Schaeffer says that the orchard’s diversity—there are no more than two trees of the same fruit variety—helps with longevity and labor costs.
“You hear about total crop failure all the time,” she said. “But here, if one of our trees doesn’t bud fruit, another will. There will always be plenty. And if you grow a diversity of perennials, it’s much less work. You don’t need a large crew to come all at once for harvest. Mostly it’s just me and my husband, and a few people who help once a week or so.”
The fruit trees are not U-Pick; those interested in purchasing fruit can sign up online. Sales for 2022 will begin in late June or early July.
Schaeffer said they are thinking about planting a row of sunflowers on the property, to offer young visitors a chance to pick. The rose fields, she said, are not ideal for children.
“The thing is, roses are mean. They have thorns,” she said. “So we can’t allow kids out in the field. People really want to bring their kids out, and I understand that. So maybe if we had sunflowers, there’d be something for them to pick.”
Schaeffer said that she wants Birdsong Orchards to be accessible to as many as possible. They try to keep their prices affordable so that everyone can enjoy a day of U-Pick.
“Nurses, people who work for the county, college students, older people, genderqueer people … I want that kind of place where everyone can come and enjoy themselves,” she said.
FARM FELINE One of Birdsong Orchards’ many cats strolls through a bed of roses.
Birdsong Orchard’s U-Pick roses are by appointment only. The exact address will be provided after sign up is complete. For information, visit birdsongorchards.com.
