There's something wonderfully enchanting about fields abloom with flowers. From sunflowers to lavender to seasonal blooms, here are four flower farms in the Hunter and on the Central Coast that host seasonal open days and events where you can wander through picturesque fields and pick a posy of flowers for yourself or someone you love.
Hunter Valley Sunflowers
"It's been a dream of Glen's to have a sunflower patch here in Largs since he saw them blooming, while working in Victoria," says Kirsten Slade, who owns Hunter Valley Sunflowers with her husband Glen.
The couple were inspired to create Hunter Valley Sunflowers and help give back to cancer research after they lost a good friend to the disease (her favourite flowers were sunflowers), alongside Glen's own battle with cancer.
"Since our first patch in 2021, we have donated 20 per cent of our entry fee to the Cancer Council. Alongside donations made by the public, we have raised close to $24,000," Kirsten says.
"We truly enjoy the emotional reward we experience from people coming to our sunflower patch. Whether it be to share their own cancer journey, family portraits, tick off the bucket list, propose to their loved one, or even get married in the patch."
Hunter Valley Sunflowers is a family-run farm that grows lucerne (hay) crops the majority of the time. However, the drought and floods led them to diversify and plant sunflowers on four acres of their land, as Kirsten notes "it's a nice size for people to walk through and enjoy".
The next sunflower patch is expected to bloom in late March or early April with dates and times (and future open days) to be shared on Hunter Valley Sunflowers' social media. The sunflower patch blooms are usually at their best for 10 to 12 days, so open days are dictated by the blooms.
"When our fields are blooming, we are open for people to pick their own flowers, have photos taken, enjoy a picnic and walk through the field. Some days we stay open so people can catch that sunset shot and pets are more than welcome on a lead."
125 McKimms Road, Largs, instagram.com/hunter_valley_sunflowers
The Bloom Barn
Located in Peats Ridge on the Central Coast, The Bloom Barn is a family-owned farm that has operated for more than 45 years. Around six acres of the farm's 60 acres are farmed using organic fertilisers with all the planting and weeding done by hand.
"We grow sunflowers year-round, chrysanthemums for Mother's Day, baby's breath, kangaroo paw, hydrangeas, alstroemerias, statice, paper daisies, and a few other varieties which are seasonal," owner Ivan Rusev says.
Rusev has sold flowers at Newcastle Farmers Market for nine years, alongside other markets and through local florists. Two years ago, the farm hosted its first pick-your-own flowers day, which was a "huge success". They now regularly run the days and related events throughout the year.
"The Bloom Barn Farm tagline is 'We grow your gifts'. This is for the fact that our flowers are used to say, 'Thank-you', 'I'm sorry', 'I love you', 'Condolences' and just 'For being you'," Rusev says.
"The pick-your-own days are about bringing the community together and enjoying a day on the farm. I'm aware of the mental health benefits that this can offer, even our staff believe the farm helps them in their personal life."
The next pick-your-own flower days at The Bloom Barn will be held on Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8. They will also be part of the Central Coast Harvest Festival on June 10-11, where they will have around 100,000 sunflowers planted for the event. (Rusev adds that they have a "big audacious goal" to plant one million sunflowers by hand this year.)
Tickets include entry to the farm, picking five sunflowers, free face painting, a mini sunflower maze and complimentary marshmallows to roast on the farm's fire pits. A coffee cart and barbecue will also be on-site.
"Our plan is to have more consistent pick-your-own flower days throughout the year, hopefully every weekend, just on a smaller scale than the larger events," Rusev says.
1154 Peats Ridge Road, Peats Ridge, thebloombarn.com.au
Hunter Lavender Farm
"The region is well-known for producing exceptional wine grapes, but we did not want to be newcomers in an already mature industry," says Marianne Villanueva on how she and her husband Arnulfo (JR) came to establish the Hunter Lavender Farm in 2019.
Inspired by days spent driving around the French countryside admiring Provence's lavender, they chose to make the pretty flowering plant the focus of their business. The first commercial lavender farm in the Hunter, their 14-acre property in Broke is now home to over 10,000 organically-farmed lavender plants of five different cultivated varieties.
"Lavenders are perennial plants that typically bloom only once a year during summer between peaking between December and January," Marianne says.
"As the blooms transform the field into a sea of purple, we try to take advantage of the aesthetic quality of the lavender field and open the farm for lavender field walks and tours along with lavender-themed experiences."
The farm will be open as part of the A Little Bit of Broke festival on May 6 and 7 and over summer from December 9 to January 28 next year.
125 Adams Peak Road, Broke, hunterlavenderfarm.com.au
Horseshoe Valley Farm
Robyn Basnett and Mick van Lingen are the owners and farmers behind Horseshoe Valley Farm and Apiary. Originally from South Africa, they moved to their small family farm in the Dooralong Valley on the Central Coast in 2015, where they live with their children, Beth, Jack, and Hope.
"We've spent the last eight years consciously and patiently transforming our land into a productive, regeneratively managed mixed farm," Basnett says.
"We are fortunate to have 80 acres of cleared grazing pastures, and we run a flock of about 100 sheep, producing delicious local lamb and South African biltong, and building up the numbers of our Babydoll sheep stud."
While they previously managed close to 200 beehives, Basnett and van Lingen sadly had to have all but one apiary euthanised due to the recent Varroa mite biosecurity emergency.
"We also have an ever-expanding flower field, where we grow spray-free seasonal cut flowers, including dahlias, zinnias, sunflowers, snapdragons, and sweet peas."
While they have had to postpone their pick-your-own flower days this season to rebuild their soils after multiple floods, they will return in spring later this year. Fresh flower bunches are also available weekly at their farmstand.
"We will be open for the Central Coast Council Harvest Festival over the June long weekend, hosting self-guided tours of the flowers, sheep and honey extraction facilities, along with having all our produce for sale at the farmstand."
830 Dicksons Road, Dooralong, horseshoevalley.com.au
