Tucked amongst a couple of acres, Dee Dee and Cambren Davis have cultivated an olive grove. Although olive trees were introduced to Florida in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with Spanish and Mediterranean settlers, they are not too common in Hernando County.
DeeDee and Cambren Davis traveled to Italy and fell in love with the beauty of the olive tree. An idea was planted and they decided to bring these beauties to Brooksville. With trial and error, their trees started to produce olives two years after planting them. “There were some naysayers, but we proved them wrong,” Davis said.
Coming into their fourth year, the olive trees did produce a hearty season for the Davises. Those bitter tasting olives are picked right from their grove and pressed to make a flavorful organic olive oil- excellent for Italian bread dipping. “It takes up to eight to ten years (from a seed) for a tree to produce olives,” Davis said.
The Olive Grove sells the following olive tree varieties: the Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki. In 2016, they will have their own olive mill machine. For those that have purchased trees, the Olive Grove is forming a club. “So if you have five trees or twenty trees you can bring your olives here,” Davis said. Through the club, they will be able to learn the process of pressing olives.
The Olive Grove store has a variety of homegrown and home pressed olive oil as well as homemade olive soap. “The soap is wonderful for your skin,” said Susan Gallup who works in the gift shop. “I learned so much just coming out here.”
Visitors from across the state, Don and Trish Tutt from De Leon Springs, came to check out the olive trees and share their experiences in growing and pressing. “We have about a hundred trees,” Don Tutt said. The Tutts love the experience of growing olive trees and sharing what they have learned from other growers.
The Olive Grove offers story-time September 12 and 19 on Greek Mythology at 2pm for the kids as well as workshops. On September 26, the Olive Grove has a soap making
workshop for those interested in creating their own soap. They are holding their 2015 Fall Festival on Sunday October 4th from 11am to 6pm. There will be live music and fun for the whole family. For more information about the Olive Grove visit their website at http://www.floridaconcerts.org/index.htm
The Olive Grove is located at 15016 Rester Drive Brooksville, FL 34613
