Flowers can brighten any room and elevate our mood instantly, so here are some great flower farms near NYC where you can pick your bouquets.
Long Island Farm is known for its sunflower maze and Instagrammable backdrop. This Long Island farm also provides other summer activities, including corn mazes, hayrides, and pumpkin patches.
Stars of the Meadow
When you need an emotional lift, stroll through one of these multi-acre flower farms and stroll among their blooming fields. Choose your flowers–tulips in springtime and sunflowers later on–from you-pick options available throughout their farm’s seasons.
At this Hudson Valley farm, you’ll find beautiful foxgloves, zinnias, snapdragons, chrysanthemums, and many other colorful blooms to bring home in a pail or purchase ready-made bouquets from their on-property shop. Make a day of it by taking advantage of their picnic shelter, petting zoo, face painting, and petting zoo facilities!
This family-owned organic and pesticide-free farm offers CSA subscriptions, florist arrangements, wholesale to local grocery stores and farmers’ markets, and an online gardening guide with tips for growing flowers yourself. Its website also provides helpful gardening guides and advice.
A family farm that has been providing food and flowers for 37 years. Now growing cut flowers on 15 acres of their 400-acre organic, certified diversified farm to sell at their on-site market and local farmers markets as well as to florists and wedding clients in the area. It is operated by Dru Rivers and Hannah Rose Muller, who run the Full Belly Floral florist business.
Marybeth Wehrung understands weather and climate’s role in her flower farming operations. She anticipates 2021 to be another challenging year based on responses to the Slow Flowers member survey from 2016. 60% of respondents identified weather irregularities such as abnormally warm or cool spring seasons, unseasonably late frosts, or extended periods without rainfall as factors that impact their floral enterprises.
But Marybeth and other growers are determined to overcome such challenges. They’ve taken measures to minimize risk, such as planting and harvesting in short seasons, using no-till and low-till methods, manually aerating by hand with a human-powered broad fork, tarping, and solarizing beds to decrease weeds while retaining moisture levels. Their experimentation includes Dahlias and Zinnias, who can withstand NYC’s hot, droughty environment. They’re also spreading awareness of sustainable, locally grown flowers by working with florists like Taylor Patterson, who founded Brooklyn’s Fox Fodder Floral Design studio in 2013. By working with florists like this one, they aim to demonstrate the beauty and worth of flowers from small farms whose blooms may not last as long as those found at a greenhouse or supermarket.
Bear Creek Farm
Bear Creek Farm produces stunning long-stemmed flowers and tubers for florists across New York. Nestled in Stanfordville near an 1850s farmhouse, the farm invites strolls among lilies, dahlias, and peonies – making this an idyllic setting to stop for lunch at their herbary restaurant!
Debra Kaye never imagined she’d become a flower farmer; dahlias weren’t even on her radar when her now-husband proposed in 2013. At that time, she was working in innovation and marketing consulting in NYC; when planting the blooms for her wedding ceremony, however, fashion designers and photographers quickly took notice, and she soon began planning Bear Creek Farm.
Kaye began experimenting with growing more varieties of dahlias following the event, quickly realizing what qualities would help her flowers stand out: sturdy construction and holding their color well. So she applied her skillset towards this challenge, eventually producing blooms she considered market-ready. She took some of these blooms directly to a florist at Union Square Greenmarket for sale, and the rest is history!
Kaye now runs Bear Creek Farm with two full-time and three part-time employees. She aims to produce approximately 200,000 to 250,000 stems annually, most dahlias, but she also grows Iceland poppies, Japanese anemones, Fritillaria persica, Westcountry lupines, and toad lilies.
Although she loves spreading happiness through flowers, being a farmer can be challenging and time-consuming. “You’re always working,” she notes. It takes dedication and hard work to move the blooms from field to bouquet – however, her smile remains when seeing customers react positively when receiving commendations!
Twilight Flower Farm
Hudson Valley Farm, run by a family-owned business, is home to beautiful blooms ranging from dahlias and peonies. Their flowers can be found sold throughout tri-state markets; Dahlia’s sales volume has even reached the top ten percent nationwide! For added convenience, they also provide online ordering and delivery of unique floral gifts using sustainable growth methods.
Stone Ridge Farm is an unexpected gem at Emmanuel’s Marketplace Plaza in Stone Ridge. Nestled between Sweetpea Gifts and Experience The Difference Hair Salon, its name, HOMEGROWN, speaks for itself, as it exclusively sells locally grown flowers. Laura Padusnak herself creates arrangements from seed to harvest to sale–she remains deeply connected throughout this process!
The owners of this family-run farm share an affection for plants and a passion for long-lasting flowers. Their specialty lies in hard-to-find varieties with long vase life, such as parrot and peony tulips, sturdy sunflowers, medicinal herbs, and dahlias – plus perennial varieties that return year after year! Summer u-pick opportunities can be enjoyed here, and their products are sold through local boutique stores, farmers markets, and CSA subscription services.
This 10-acre farm near Nyack has been in operation for more than four decades and grows various flowers to be used at weddings and other events, using organic and biodynamic practices for cultivation. These flowers are pesticide-free and pollinator-friendly, used in their CSA shares and custom floral designs. In addition, there is also a small nursery where plants and trees can be purchased; their summer U-pick flowers include roses, dahlias, tulips, and peonies can be picked; perennials as well as seasonal varieties such as perennials and berries for sale from greenhouses.
Tread light Flower Farm
Dahlias and zinnias from local flower farms offer vibrant bouquets that will brighten any day, inducing happiness in those living indoors while reminding them to connect with nature – these multi-acre flower farms near NYC offer fresh bouquets as reminders that can bring some of that wilderness inside.
Treadlight Flower Farm, located in New York’s Rondout Valley, specializes in producing rare cut flowers for wholesale markets in NY and NJ. Their innovative production methods and passion for native flowers contribute to environmental sustainability and value; in this webinar, Matt Dell from Treadlight Flower Farm will share his knowledge and experiences in growing rare and specialty cut flowers.
Two sisters run Cedar Farm with a passion for cut flowers. Reminiscent of The Secret Garden in its design, Cedar Farm features flowers such as foxgloves in June and fresh chamomile in August – they even sell these perennials and annuals at farmers’ markets throughout Putnam County!
Jenny Marks of Trademarks Flower Farm spent much of her youth immersed in agriculture at her family’s dairy and vegetable CSA farm and running her own vegetable and fruit CSA farm. Over time, however, Jenny became more focused on flower farming, teaching farmers through cooperative extension beginner farmer programs before selling fresh, vibrant flowers at Larchmont Farmers Market.
This family-owned and operated farm specializes in producing top-quality tulips and sunflowers, known for their vibrant colors and long stems, making the perfect length for vase or bouquet arrangements. Open from May through November.
This family-owned farm offers more than just tulips and sunflowers; their extensive selection includes cosmos and dahlias, too! You’ll find these flowers at markets throughout Westchester, Catskills, and New York City florists – they even have a subscription program available through their website for designers!
