We all know that it’s the memories and family that make a house a real home. Saying goodbye to your old home and starting a new chapter in life can be bittersweet for sure. But for Kathy and Tommy Liamidis, they are taking a special part of their home with them to Chickahominy Falls.
Kathy and Tommy have lived in their home for 32 years and recently purchased a new home in Chickahominy Falls. They instantly fell in love with this “farm-centric” community and were definitely eager to leave the yard work behind. However, there were some pretty special fig trees in their yard that had provided them with years of delicious figs. And one of them, in particular, came directly from Greece.
According to Kathy, “This larger tree, and the most fruitful, is not really much to look at right now as the leaves are just beginning to sprout. It’s the tree that we used to climb up on the roof to pick from! There is a story to tell when the tree was younger. A friend came over to do some side jobs for us. In the winter season, a fig tree just looks like a bunch of sticks. Worried that the branches were interfering with an oil tank that we had at that time, he cut it down to the ground. My husband was not happy when he heard about it, but in the end, it is this tree that rebounded and has provided us with many delicious figs over the years.
During one of their visits to Chickahominy Falls, Tommy shared the story of their fig trees with Bryan, the Farmer at Woodside Farms. Bryan had just overseen the installation of the orchards and he thought, “why not bring your fig trees here!” And they did! Now the Liamidis’ fig trees are planted at Woodside Farms, so they will continue to enjoy their bounty, along with their new neighbors, too.
Kathy said, “to be honest, we always ate the figs fresh, and shared what we couldn’t eat with family and friends. I just felt like they were perfect in their natural state and didn’t need any recipe. Only once in all those years, did I attempt a recipe, fig compote. It ended up like fig soup instead!”
Everyone at Woodside Farms can’t wait to taste them and who knows, maybe we will try a new recipe!
