Seven Standout U-Pick Flower Farms Across the South
For flower lovers, there’s nothing quite like the slow and soothing ritual of clipping fresh blooms and bringing them inside. Across the South, u-pick flower farms offer that opportunity, especially if you don’t have a green thumb or a great big yard yourself. Whether you’re looking for a romantic afternoon date, a peaceful family outing, or a chance to learn the art of composing a floral arrangement, these Southern flower farms are abloom with opportunities.
Fairview, North Carolina
Blooming season: June through October
In an area devastated by Hurricane Helene late last year, Flying Cloud Farm offers a slice of community and resilience. This self-serve Asheville-area farm operates on an honor system, and locals lovingly abide by it. From late spring to early fall, garden rows burst with daisies, dahlias, sunflowers, marigolds, and zinnias. You can gather your own flowers during daylight hours using the provided cups for just $10, or for $25 to $50, bring your own bucket and pick a larger bouquet of mountain blooms.
Clover, South Carolina
Blooming season: March through October
It all started in 2020 with a single pack of zinnia seeds and a backyard garden. After sharing the garden’s growth online, Stephanie Bull was “surprised and awestruck,” she says, at how much her community enjoyed seeing the flowers. “The impact that can come from the simple act of growing, sharing, or receiving flowers is really incredible,” she says. Now, an abundance of blooms arrives from late spring through fall, and she opens the farm for u-pick days from June through October. Tickets will be available later this spring, and Bull says her newsletter is a great way to get all the details.
Waterford, Virginia
Blooming season: April through mid-November
Owned by the internationally renowned floral designer Holly Chapple, this twenty-five-acre working flower farm, winery, and cidery sits in the heart of Loudon County wine country. Chapple schedules cut-your-own flower days throughout the season and updates the events webpage. Visitors can partake in monthly flower design workshops featuring tulips, peonies, ranunculus, zinnias, sunflowers, and dahlias. Stay tuned into their Instagram too, where the farm posts updates about pop-up markets and new workshop drops, like floral watercolor classes. Want to wake up with the flowers? Book a stay at the farm’s Airbnb cottage.
Dahlonega, Georgia
Blooming season: May through October (lavender u-pick season is June)
Against all odds, the Red Oak Lavender Farm in Dahlonega learned how to grow a Provençal crop in a Georgia climate (the mountain air helps!). Get to know more about the fragrant purple bloom by signing up for a How To Grow Lavender workshop. Or you can come and clip your own from the five acres of purple fields during peak season in June by purchasing a u-pick ticket (act quickly when they go on sale on their website the second week of May). More than just lavender, you’ll find flowers like zinnias, gomphrenas, celosias, and dahlias blooming throughout the season. And if you time your visit to the annual Lavender Festival, you can picnic in the lavender fields while enjoying treats like lavender lemonade and lavender ice cream. Even if you miss tickets to the u-pick season, the farm is always aflutter with workshops, classes, and events, during which you can learn to make herbal butter, dried lavender wreaths, linen sprays, dried bouquets, and more.
Couldn’t snag a lavender ticket? North Georgia is fertile ground for the fragrant purple flower, but the season is brief. Seek out Lookout Lavender and Saddle Creek Lavender for more u-pick opportunities.
Kiln, Mississippi
Blooming season: April through mid-November
La Terre Farms is a sustainably run operation offering a variety of hands-on experiences and ticketed u-picks. Snapdragons, larkspur, strawflowers, sunflowers, zinnias, celosia, and cosmos all appear on the farm from spring through fall. Guests can join for Farm Friday events from September through November—a once-a-month picnic-style event with u-pick flowers. Watch La Terre’s events page for floral workshops led by industry professionals like James DelPrince and Martha Butler. If you can’t make it to the farm, you can rent their traveling Bloom Bar, a flower trailer that travels off site for bridal showers, birthday celebrations, and block parties.
Just thirty minutes away, Coastal Ridge Farm, a neighboring flower farm and blueberry u-pick, welcomes visitors to purchase u-pick tickets and bring their own bucket and clippers to harvest an ever-changing array of blooms.
Belews Creek, North Carolina
Blooming season: April through June (poppies, purple rocket larkspur, and other wildflowers) and July through August (sunflowers, zinnias, and cosmos)
France is known for its fields of poppies, but you can see the same sea of delicate red petals in North Carolina’s hilly Piedmont region. Purple rocket larkspurs, sunflowers, zinnias, and cosmos all pop up at this farm—a father-son enterprise operated by a former landscaper for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Chris Crump. Guests can enjoy the blooms while relaxing on a blanket and watching the sunset, or by picking their own bouquets. The farm will hold its second Poppy Festival in May (specific date to come), with vendors, food trucks, and even hot air balloon rides.
Elkton, Florida
Blooming season: April through May, October through November
This St. Augustine–area family farm is known for its native wildflowers and variety of sunflowers, with such cultivar names as Teddy Bear, Ring of Fire, Starburst, Chocolate, Strawberry Blonde, and more. Their public u-pick days are Saturdays and Sundays during their open seasons, and visitors can purchase general admission tickets online or at the farmstand. Tune into the events page and Instagram to get insight into more fun events on the farm for spring, like a yoga retreat among the flowers, a chef-led farm tasting experience, an Easter egg hunt, and a flower painting class.
