A spring tradition in Prince William, Burnside Farms ready to open with 400 varieties of tulips

NOKESVILLE — After an unusually short season in 2018 due to unpredictable weather conditions, Burnside Farms 2019 Festival of Spring will return with a bang.

“This is going to be our best year ever,” says Leslie Dawley, proprietor, “It’s going to be incredible.”

Dawley said they planted 1.2 million tulip bulbs this year, the most they’ve ever had.

Dawley says the farms plan to open two weeks after the cherry blossoms bloom. She estimates the opening to be around the middle of April, but possibly sooner.

Dawley says once the farms are open, they will remain open for three-and-a-half to four weeks.

“We have over 400 varieties of tulips,” she said.

Dawley said when the farm opened six years ago, there were only 35,000 tulips and 15 varieties.

“We have grown each year,” she said.

Dawley said Burnside Farms is one of only a handful of places in the world where you can pick your own tulips and the only farm of its kind in our area.

The tulips begin in early bloom, then progress to mid and late bloom over the weeks that they are open, says Dawley.

“The best time to come is 1-2 weeks after our opening,” she says, “That’s when we have the most flowers.”

Dawley said the farm plants new flowers every single year.

She encourages visitors to come during the week if you want to avoid crowds as they are most busy on the weekends.

Dawley said the farm has a picnic area for families to hang out and a designated play area for children. She recommends visitors to wear farm-worthy shoes.

Dawley said a new addition this year is their theater, where they will be featuring the film, Tulip Mania. She said this film is about the first economic crash recorded due to tulips. Dawley said the movie was played in Amsterdam.

The farms are located at 11008 Kettle Run Road in Nokesville, near Patriot High School.

For field updates, or to answer any questions prior to coming, visit burnsidefarms.com.

Dawley said Burnside Farms would like to remain in their current location for the foreseeable future. That may be easier said than done as the county’s population continues to grow and farming fades from the landscape.

“There is very little farmland left in Prince William County,” she says.

The Rural Crescent Preservation Coalition is a movement to save the remaining farmland in Prince William County.

“This will keep us where we are,” said Dawley, “This would preserve attractive land that would otherwise go to houses. It’s a good thing.”

Originally identified in 1964, Prince William County’s Rural Crescent — between Quantico and Manassas National Battlefield Park — was drawn on a map to identify land to be preserved. The Prince William County Board of Supervisors in 1998 enacted the boundary line, which limited the number of homes that could be built on land inside the rural area.

Growing demands from farmers who say farming is no longer a way of life in Prince William County and who want to sell their land to developers have pushed for changes in the restrictions inside the rural area. Those restrictions which limit homes to one home per every 10 acres gives little incentive for developers to purchase land on which to build.

A 2013 study of the rural crescent by county officials which provided recommendations on changing the restrictions is sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

Dawley said it’s important for people to know about the Coalition and support it so that farms like theirs can continue to exist and serve the community.

Dawley said she is looking forward to this year’s season.

“It will be a special year.”