Happy Friday, all! I hope you’ve had a great week, and that you’re enjoying the remainder of August as we inch towards the end of summer (sorry, someone had to say it!) Every June, I create a summer bucket list of sorts: I write down all the fun things I want to do before the season is over. They could be anything from planning a weekend getaway or beach day, to things as simple as having a picnic or getting an ice cream from Tom’s Dairy Freeze. As September approaches, I always start looking back on that list, reflecting on what I’ve done so far and what I still want to do before summer’s over (spoiler alert: I never manage to cross everything off!) As I reflect on this year, it seems like my #summer2024 has been the summer of flower farms. From swinging in the sunflowers at Pingle’s to picnicking in the lavender fields at Hereward Farms, it’s been quite the floral-filled summer – and I’m not complaining! A couple of weeks ago, my best friend Victoria and I headed to Paris (Ontario!) for a weekend getaway – more on that next week – and we found ourselves at yet another flower farm. What can I say… I just can’t help myself!
Located in Brantford, Brantwood Farms is a family-run farm with a history dating back over a century. The Pate Family has been living and farming in Brant County since 1891! They’re passionate about bringing the very best home-grown produce to the local community. In addition to selling their farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, jams and baked goods in their farm store, the Pates also host various seasonal events on the farm. From their summer flower experiences to PYO apples and pumpkins in the fall to their festive Christmas open house, there’s always something fun going on at Brantwood Farms. Victoria and I were lucky enough to make it to the farm to experience the final day of Sunflower Fest – and to enjoy their amazing PYO bouquet experience, which runs all summer long!
When we arrived at the farm, we hopped right onto the wagon for our ride into the flower fields. I’ve somehow never outgrown my love of wagon rides… they’re just as fun to me now as they were when I was a kid!
The wagon took us through fields of gorgeous scenery, and when a vibrant sea of yellow rolled into view, we knew we’d reached our first stop!
The Brantwood Farms sunflower field contains over 100,000 sunflowers – and no, I didn’t accidentally type an extra zero in there! I’ve been to many a flower farm, but I don’t think I’ve seen this many sunflowers in one place in my entire life. It was a truly spectacular scene!
Each visitor to the sunflower field gets to clip three flowers to take home. As we were visiting late in the season, many of the flowers were starting to droop and wilt, but we were still able to find some perfectly beautiful blooms!
The field was filled with fun props that made for great photo ops, from swings to hanging photo frames, and even an adorable tandem bike!
P.S. If you’re wondering why those bike shots of me and Victoria look so strangely over-saturated compared to my usual pictures… a fellow visitor offered to take photos of us, but decided to use some “artistic license” with the camera settings. Not my vibe, but they were too cute not to post!
The Brantwood Farms staff bundled up our sunflowers for us, wrapping the stems in a water-soaked paper towel to help them survive until we got them home. Then it was back to the wagon and onto our next stop: the cut-your-own flower field!
Brantwood Farms’ 4-acre cut-your-own field consists of over 70 varieties of flowers, from dahlias to lisianthus to sweet peas. They’re open every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday all summer long – which means you’ve still got a few weeks to visit!
Sana at the booth – who was so kind and welcoming – provided us with a bucket and two pairs of clippers, and instructed us to go “fill ‘er up” – and we certainly did! We walked up and down every single row of flowers, clipping those that we loved most.
I’m a big fan of dahlias and zinnias, so several of those made their way into the bucket. I love the creative freedom of being able to craft your own bouquet using all the styles and colours you love – it’s so much fun!
When we’d exhausted the flower fields, we headed back to the booth, and Sana gave us water-filled buckets in which to arrange our respective bouquets. Brantwood Farms’ PYO prices vary depending on the size of arrangement you’d like: you can do a small bouquet for $15, large bouquet for $28 or florist bucket for $60.
Owner Dawn Pate was kind enough to snap some photos of me and Victoria in the flower fields. This is what I love most about supporting family-run businesses – you get to connect with the faces behind the brand! And I love that even as a successful business owner, Dawn wasn’t “behind the scenes” but right there with her sleeves rolled up, working the flower fields and greeting visitors. She was so lovely!
If you’d like to cut-your-own bouquet at Brantwood Farms, you can simply show up at the farm – no need to pre-book. Although if you’d like to attend one of their special floral workshops – such as their flower arranging or wreath making classes – you must reserve tickets on their website (click the red ‘Book Now’ button in the lower righthand corner of the screen.) I’m also super excited to be partnering with Brantwood Farms to give away a free PYO bouquet experience for two! Visit my Instagram to enter – the contest runs until August 30, 2024. The PYO fields will remain open through at least September 15, and likely a little later than that, depending on weather and availability.
Victoria and I had so much fun at Brantwood Farms. Not only was it a relaxing and picturesque afternoon out, but I also got a gorgeous bouquet to take home to Tania… talk about a win-win! I’m hoping to return to the farm this September to check out their Fall Festival, featuring PYO apples and pumpkins, a corn maze, and my favourite… more wagon rides! Keep an eye on their website to stay up-to-date on future events.
Do you have a favourite PYO flower farm in Ontario? Drop your recommendations in the comments or send me an email – I’d love to add them to my list!
Our experience at Brantwood Farms was generously hosted by the owners. As always, all opinions and thoughts are entirely my own.
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