TANNENBAUM
CONGR ATULATIONS TO ALL
SEASON
THE NEW HOMEOWNERS AND MANY THANKS TO MY CLIENTS FOR A GREAT 2023 LD
SO
george miller house
sam fred
303 acres $3,750,000 This estate is waiting for someone with the eye for interior finishes to bring it to life. Minutes from the charming village of Sperryville and enjoys convenient proximity to Culpeper and Warrenton.
24+ acres $3,200,000 Middleburg – This country manor is unrecognizable from its former c.1915 Virginia farmhouse look. This new concept represents a luxurious lifestyle, one in which to expect the best of everything.
D VEE O PR RIC IM P
LD
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the trappe
beaverdam bridge
18+ acres $2,595,000 Upperville – Located amongst large estates, sweeping views and compelling history is this completely renovated horse country gem. c.1740 main house, 1800’s guest house and a former general store.
10 acres $1,999,999 Middleburg – Stunning, 4 level custom home with 5 BR/5 BA and nearly 6,500 sq. ft. of living space. Surrounded by 10 private acres with mature trees, open lawns and a fenced garden.
Real estate professional representing land, farms and fox hunting estates throughout Virginia
will driskill Licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia
(540) 454 -7522 THOMAS & TALBOT ESTATE PROPERTIES 2 South Madison Street | PO Box 500 | Middleburg, VA 20118 Office: 540-687-6500 | thomasandtalbot.com Offers subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice. Information contained herein is deemed reliable, but is not so warranted nor is it otherwise guaranteed.
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Which one? That’s always the question at Snickers Gap Tree Farm.
‘T
By John E. Ross
is Tannenbaum season. Pick your tree: Fraser firs with stiff wellspaced faintly blue-tinged needles; Scots pines with seriously green and bushy boughs; blue spruce with pert but prickly needles; and the southern favorite, white pines so soft and full. Whatever your tastes, whatever your space, just the right Christmas tree is growing on a tree farm not that far away. Growing up in Ohio, the right tree around our house had to be a Blue spruce. Branches were spaced just far enough apart so it could be decorated the way Mom wanted. A set of colored lights was In eight years, this white pine strung close to its center so the tree glowed deep seedling that Ricky Hoyfrom within. Two more strings wrapped the tree bach’s pruning at Country Loving Christmas Tree Farm just inside its outermost branches. will make some family a fine Ornaments, each imbued with memories of holiday tree. Christmases past, were carefully hung. Mom stood back, directing my brothers and me where to place each and having us move colored bulbs from one light socket to another for just the right effect. Then came tinsel, one strand at a time, each draped. “Don’t throw it,” I can still hear her instruct. How I hated tinsel. When we moved to Knoxville in the mid-1950s, our tastes were forced to change. There were no blue spruce. Fraser firs, native to Southern Appalachians, became our tree of choice. Frasers (Abies fraseri) do not grow well in the Blue Ridge foothills. Yet their nominal but unrelated cousin, Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii), do very well and are among northern Virginia’s most popular Christmas tree species. Loudoun Nursery’s Lou Nichols introduced me to concolor fir (Abies concolor) also known as white fir. When young, it grows in a nearly perfectly pyramid shape. Needles are shortish, stout yet soft. Branches easily support ornaments and allow them to hang freely. Break a fresh concolor branch and immediately you’ll smell oranges, just like the ones as kids we loaded with dried cloves to scent the house for the holidays. Perhaps a bit visionary, Lou’s parents were among the first to grow Christmas trees in this area. Planning to attract customers from Washington’s suburbs, in 1960 they bought a farm on Watson Road just east of US 15 and planted Scots pine, white pine, and some spruces. When Lou returned from Army duty in 1970, the trees were ready for harvest.
MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2023 11/14/23 1:39 PM
