Picking the perfect peach is not as easy as you might think. When we arrived at Greenbrier Farms ready to pick, we were given a handout listing all the things to look for: perfect color, firmness, smell, and how easy it will be to pick from the branch. Our big kids took it pretty seriously. On the hayride out to the orchard they studied their notes like they were cramming for a test and each peach they pulled off the tree had to be JUST. RIGHT.
Even given this level of perfectionism, it didn't take too long to fill our bags. But luckily there is more to do at Greenbrier Farms than pick peaches, which justified the long drive from Norfolk. The kids visited the petting zoo, fed cheerios to a pair of puddle ducks and a hen named Oprah, swung on giant tire swings, jumped off the stairs at the old farmhouse, and played on the playground in the middle of it all. By the time we got back to the cars, tired and sweaty, they were more than ready to nap the whole way back, which left me free to daydream about all the goodies I'd bake with our haul.
Greenbrier Farms has something to look forward to year round. After peaches come nectarines, then pumpkins in the fall, and cut-your-own Christmas trees in December. In the spring, there will be strawberries, then peaches again.
The staff at Greenbrier are super accommodating and want to do everything they can to make your visit enjoyable (the handout should be a tip-off). They encouraged us and our littles to look around at everything, let them roam through the still-producing strawberry patch, told us about all the different plants growing around their greenhouses. If you're too busy to come and pick your own peaches, they will even pick them for you and have them ready to go when you come and pick them up!
As for those peaches ... we made cobbler. YUM.
Pro-tip: Bring sunscreen (there's not much shade at the play area) and bug spray (mosquitoes are terrible this year).
