Orange, Virginia
The Farm in Orange
Growing saffron on a National Historic property in the heart of Virginia wine country — from a backyard experiment in McLean to 15,000 bulbs at the Old Manse.
Welcome
A Virginia farm rooted in history
We grow Crocus sativus on The Old Manse — a Greek Revival landmark in downtown Orange — where rich soil, cool winters, and warm summers mirror the wine regions from Culpeper to Charlottesville.
About the Farm
The story of Rita’s saffron journey, the historic Old Manse (aka. The Farm in Orange), deer fences, bee hives, and life on 40+ acres in Orange County.
About Saffron
How to spot genuine saffron, choose healthy corms, and tell edible Crocus sativus from toxic look-alikes.
Growing & Harvest
Soil, mulch, Virginia weather cycles, picking rotations, and drying stigmas the old-fashioned way.
The beginning
From a $60 spice to a farm
Rita, an avid cook and gardener, began growing saffron in her yard in McLean in 2007 after spending sixty dollars on spice to make chicken tagine — a Moroccan dish featuring a ten-dollar chicken, a handful of olives, and some salted lemons. Bulbs were ordered, and in typical Rita fashion, the instructions were ignored for planting and nothing happened that year.
On Halloween 2008, an explosion of heavenly fragrant purple crocuses appeared!
Fast forward to 2018: online exploration of old homes on over forty acres uncovered a National Historic home within walking distance of downtown Orange. We broke ground in late summer of 2021, planting 15,000 bulbs on a few acres. Our first harvest in November of 2021 resulted in over a pound of saffron. Success!