www.middleburglife.net
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August 2015
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Lowelands Farm—Bees, Trees, Honey and So Much More By Dulcy Hooper For Middleburg Life
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aren and Rick Lowe decided to leave Alexandria in the mid-1970s, preferring to raise their three children in the Virginia countryside. “We definitely sought out a country life,” Karen Lowe said. “We brought out our horses, which had been boarded in McLean, and decided to develop the farm.” The Lowes had purchased a 66-acre farm bordering Lime Kiln and Steptoe Hill Roads, but were not initially sure about what to do with it. “We attended numerous Virginia Tech symposiums on alternative agriculture,” Karen said, “because as small land owners, we wanted to keep the property natural.” When they discovered their land was not suited for hay or corn, they cleared 10 acres for pine trees and pasture for their horses. “We found the idea of raising Christmas trees to be the most appealing to us,” Karen said. Still, the Lowes’ interest did not stop at Christmas trees. Karen had long been interested in herbs and had grown them for years. She joined the Goose Creek Herb Guild (of which she currently serves as president) and, “with a little push from a friend,” entered the gourmet food trade using the harvest from her herb gardens. “We had also began beekeeping,” she said, “not only to help pollinate plants on our farm, but to create a line of gourmet herbal honeys.” The Lowes developed their own herbal
wine vinegars, herbal and fruited honeys, gourmet mustards, and a few dried spice/herb products, selling them in many stores and catalog companies. “At one point, Lowelands Farm Fine Foods ran me,” Karen said. “I didn’t run it.” They still sell to some smaller shops and by appointment at the farm, which also produces a private label for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The products are currently carried in Fairchild Specialty Gifts and Foods at 116 West Washington Street in Middleburg. The gourmet honeys include such delightful combinations as Lemon Thyme, Wildflower Mint, Ginger Sage and Razzle Dazzle. And much to Lowes’ pleasure, Jason Reaves, the pastry chef at Salamander Resort, has started using Loweland Farm’s Vanilla Velvet Gourmet Honey in a dessert offered on their menu in Harrimans restaurant. Hospitality is yet another interest of the Lowes, and it began with The Hunt Box, a guest house on the farm. It initially was built in 2002 for the their daughter, Jessie, and her husband, Sean Baker. “We had already given them 10 acres of our farm, so they now have Dayspring Farm,” said Karen. “Jessie and Sean outgrew The Hunt Box. We had built it when they only had one child, and they proceeded to have four more children!” The design of the guest house is based on the Lowes’ studies of the architecture of Colonial Williamsburg and is furnished and decorated to replicate a small English style “hunt box” used for riders who followed the hunt seasons
in England. And guests to The Hunt Box get some very special touches. “My experience creating amenity baskets for hotels was naturally extended to creating them for our rental houses,” said Karen. Lowelands Farm Fine Foods were included in amenity baskets for hotels, from the Hilton in McLean to The Willard Hotel in Washington, for which the Lowes did a large private labeling project. Rick and Karen Lowe enjoy meeting and hosting guests at The Hunt Box who come from all over the world. “We develop lasting friendships with some of our guests,” Karen said. They’ve enjoyed the hospitality industry so much that they bolstered their business with the addition of two beach houses on the Eastern Shore – Eagle’s View in Chincoteague and Chesapeake Dream, a 102-yearold Victorian home in the beach town of Cape Charles on the Chesapeake Bay. And they still remain committed to their Christmas trees: “One has to keep up with trends,” Karen said. “As pines became less popular, we began planting spruces and firs.” There is a six- to eight-year wait to harvest pines, and eight to 15 years for firs and spruces.
Christmas trees are available for only seven days: The Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving and the first two weekends of December. Customers can cut down their Christmas tree, enjoy a hayride and hot mulled cider and shop for wreaths and gourmet products made on the farm. n
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Watermill Road, Middleburg $1,349,000
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Baileywyck Farm, Middleburg $1,349,000
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Haps Lane, Lincoln $619,000 Colleen Gustavson Real Estate
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