CULPEPER, Va. — On October 15, 2026, 40 high school students from Eastern View High School and Culpeper County High School participated in the first-ever Ag Experience Day, a full-day fieldtrip connecting students enrolled in floriculture and horticulture CTE programs with three local greenhouse and garden operations in their own community. The event was organized through a partnership between Choose Culpeper Farms and Culpeper County Public Schools, to coordinate visits to Color Orchids, Gotham Greens, and Windmill Heights Garden Center. Each student received a Choose Culpeper Farms drawstring bag, pen, and a custom handout highlighting each business, guided questions to complete during their tours, and information on careers and salaries in the greenhouse and horticulture industry.
Color Orchids
At Color Orchids, students toured the company’s most technologically advanced facility; a 160,000-square-foot greenhouse that produces approximately 1.5 million phalaenopsis orchids per year, with additional locations in Texas and California. Led by Vice President Q Pennings, students learned how the greenhouse environment is precisely managed: automated lighting that shuts off once plants receive their ideal daily light exposure (7 moles), a water treatment system that removes minerals like calcium and magnesium and injects the specific nutrients plants need, and a climate system that continuously adjusts temperature and humidity based on outdoor conditions.
Students learned how Color Orchids uses cameras at the stem-clipping stage, allowing them to identify single and double strand plants. They company also tracks why plants are discarded, such as disease and growth flaws, helping them make better-informed decisions about future crop varieties. Orchids are graded twice during the growing process and take approximately two years from propagation to a flowering plant ready for sale. Flowers are shipped when 75% open to reach stores two to three weeks before peak holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Color Orchids supplies Costco, Kroger, and Whole Foods. Its Culpeper location, the company’s longest-standing and most technologically advanced, regularly employs 22 people, increasing to approximately 30 during the holiday season.
Gotham Greens
At Gotham Greens, students explored a 540,000-square-foot facility with one million plants under glass; one of 12 greenhouses the company operates across nine states. Gotham Green produces six varieties of lettuce along with salad kits, herbs, sauces, dips, and dressings, supplying Costco, Lidl, and Kroger. The Culpeper location alone produces up to 17,000 cases per week. Students viewed the germination room, observed the plug and transplant process, and learned about each stage of the plant lifecycle from seed to packaged product. The facility uses 90% less water and 97% less land than traditional field farming. Ceiling curtains respond to outdoor weather conditions, and an interior climate system manages lighting, watering, and table heaters. The company’s Mid-Atlantic location also allows Gotham Greens to get products on store shelves faster than produce shipped from the West Coast.
Windmill Heights Garden Center
The afternoon brought students to Windmill Heights Garden Center, Culpeper’s oldest garden center; family-owned for more than 50 years. Owner Paul Hutchinson led students through their eight greenhouses, discussing the differences between annuals and perennials, the growing requirements of specialty plants like poinsettias, and the growing community interest in native plants. Students also toured a demonstration garden Hutchinson launched last year, where new plant varieties are tested and grown to maturity so that customers can see how a plant performs before purchasing — including how large a shrub might grow, and where it might fit in a yard. The visit wrapped up with open time to browse the full garden center selection, including houseplants, and several students left with plants of their own.
“We were really excited to be able to offer this kind of experience for students,” said Bryan Rothamel, Director of Culpeper Economic Development. “Culpeper County has a remarkable concentration of agricultural operations, and seeing students make direct connections between what they’re learning in the classroom and careers available right here in their community is exactly what Choose Culpeper Farms is all about.”
About Choose Culpeper Farms
Choose Culpeper Farms is the agricultural development program of the Culpeper County Economic Development Department, dedicated to highlighting the farms, agricultural businesses, careers, and opportunities in Culpeper. The program encompasses the annual Culpeper Farm Tour, the Sips of Culpeper beverage trail, and an award-winning website connecting the community with local farms and ag operations. For more information, visit ChooseCulpeperFarms.com.