Wildflower farms on Long Island
Neelu Rajput, 68, of Melville, picks flowers during an bouquet arranging class at North Fork Flower Farm in Southold. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Dahlias, sunflowers, cosmos and more wildflowers are beginning to bloom at local farms.
"Dahlias are huge. We have an entire acre of dahlias and we grow about 16 varieties, which means different colors, different shapes," says Al Martinez-Fonts, owner of North Fork Flower Farm in Southold. "The good news is they last until the first frost."
Here are a places where you can pick your own flowers or select an assortment and create your own bouquet.
Thera Farms
1705 Brentwood Rd., Brentwood
Twins Joel and Joshua Cruz, of Brentwood, with flowers picked at Thera Farms. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Located on the grounds of The Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood, Thera Farms grows dahlias, zinnias, celosias, cosmos and snapdragons, which guests can pick themselves.
"We give them cutters and a cup and they fill the cup," says Stelio Papazoglou, who helps his uncle, Teddy Bolkas, the farm’s owner. "It’s a cool place; it’s very relaxed. On the weekends we do pizza and corn."
The farm features 20 acres of organic produce and people can buy a variety of U-pick fruits.
Samantha Smith, of Holbrook, right, and Michael Empaynado, of Ronkonkoma, pick flowers at Thera Farms. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
"We have strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries," Papazoglou says. "We have our own organic tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants for sale. Every season is something different."
- WHEN Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 31
- COST $15 for as many flowers as you can fit in a 32 oz. cup
- MORE INFO 631-478-5229, brentwoodcsj.org
North Fork Flower Farm
48455 Middle Rd., Southold
The 25-acre farm is not a U-pick farm, but visitors can buy a variety of flora.
"We cut the flowers and we bring them into our barn where people can then select them and make bouquets," Martinez-Fonts says.
The farm grows about 300 varieties of flowers, including tulips, in spring, followed by anemones, ranunculus, peonies, rudbeckia, yarrow, lilies, dahlias, Teddy Bear sunflowers, celosia, amaranth, marigolds and mums. One flower that’s unique to the farm is asclepia physocarpa, also known as balloon plant.
Surplus flowers are used for dried flower arrangements that are also for sale.
During the summer, North Fork Flower Farm runs bouquet making workshops from 1 to 3 p.m. on the third Saturday of every month that cost $75.
Francesca Bravo, 27, with her grandmothers Aida Mann and Jacqueline Cucumano pick flowers during an bouquet arranging class at North Fork Flower Farm in Southold. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
"We provide everything," Martinez-Fonts says. "We give you the flowers to choose from; the vase, which is a mason jar. We lend you the snips to cut them. And then we give you instruction on how to make a bouquet."
Visitors are also welcome to walk around and photograph the fields and the barn, which was designed by one of the partners, a former architect.
Martinez-Fonts’ tips for home gardeners: Pay attention to the particular instructions for each flower, including the amount of sun, shade, water and fertilizer it needs, and whether it requires protection from the wind.
Chandler Dowd, 29, of Melville, makes a bouquet at a recent class at the farm. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
"There’s a lot of reading up on what kind of soil this plant likes; what kind of watering does it need," he says, adding, "We often ask ourselves what our business is and I believe the answer we come up with is happiness. We’re in the flower business. People walk in and walk out with a huge smile on their face, whether they’re giving it as a gift or they bought it for themselves."
- WHEN Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through December
- COST $25 for a mini vase, $35 for a small, $45 for a medium, $60 for a large, $125 for an extra-large; $100 for a bucket of 50 stems
- MORE INFO 631-769-9678, northforkflowerfarm.com
Patty's Berries and Bunches
410 Sound Ave., Mattituck
You can pick flowers and berries at Patty’s, says owner Patty Divello, who opened the venue as a produce stand in 1973.
"The best, most beautiful time, I would say is August/September. Everything comes into its glory then," says Divello, referring to her blooming dahlias, straw flowers, gomphrena, gladiolas, salvias, amaranths and cosmos.
The season starts out with peonies, larkspur, yarrow and daisies and progresses in summer to sunflowers, gladiolas, snapdragons, celosias, straw flowers and zinnias. The farm offers U-pick strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and sugar snap peas.
Patty Divello, owner of Patty’s Berries and Bunches, sells cut sunflowers on her farm in Mattituck. Credit: Linda Rosier
Divello is a member of the Harbes family of farmers, who started as cultivators of potatoes on the North Fork. Her brother owns Harbes across the street. She advises hobbyist gardeners to not be intimidated: simply plant seeds in soil in a sunny spot and keep them moist until they germinate.
"It’s all trial error and error. I’m still trialing and erroring," Divello says.
While at Patty’s, you can indulge in some of their signature homemade ice cream.
"We have all the berry flavors," she says, "and we pull in other flavors that the kids and everyone like," including lemon basil, corn, cucumber and peanut butter and jelly.
Pick your own blueberries, raspberries and blackberries at Patty's Berries and Bunches in Mattituck. Credit: Randee Daddona
- WHEN Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through December
- COST $10 to enter the field, includes one box of fruit or peas; $2 for each stem
- MORE INFO 631-655-7996, pattysberriesandbunches.org
