North Garden Farm
North Garden, VA
Dabney Studio developed a master plan and design for a 220-acre cattle farm that has been in the same family for five generations. The owners — both professional chefs and restaurateurs — center their lives around sustainably sourced food and gathering family and friends. Our design reflects this ethos through a productive, ecologically grounded landscape.
Together with the clients and architect, we approached the project with a shared commitment to environmental stewardship. The buildings are fully powered by solar energy generated on-site. Timber for the barn and guest house was harvested from trees removed during construction and milled on the property. All retaining wall stones were reclaimed from a neighboring farm.
Native meadows now surround the buildings, supporting a diverse range of
pollinators — including those that sustain the farm’s apiary. The team worked with the local water and soil conservation district to move fence lines for rotational grazing and water quality. We sited a mixed-fruit orchard, a large vegetable garden, and blueberry bushes. The clients’ young daughters raise chickens.
The most recent addition to the property is a spring-fed pond to cool off on warm Virginia summer days.
Collaborators: Jeff Sties of Sunbiosis Architecture, Element Construction, Watkins & Co. Landscape Contracting, Inc., John Heilbron Masonry, Chris Neese Excavation and CM Thomas Construction Co. Photography by Mauzy Photography, Samantha Dabney, and Patrick Evans..
