Heather Kitching
| CBC News | Posted: June 8, 2025 8:00 AM | Last Updated: 3
hours ago
Growers of tulips, sunflowers and peonies are opening their
gates to the public
Image | Peony
Caption: The co-owner of Fleur de Roy Farm near Mitchell's Bay,
Ont., said they decided to start selling to the public so they
could witness the joy the flowers bring people. (Submitted by
Fleur de Roy Farm)
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U-pick flowers are a growing trend in southwestern Ontario as
farmers open up their operations to tourists looking for novel
experiences and stunning photo opportunities.
Farms in Chatham-Kent offer visitors the opportunity to stroll
among rows of peonies, sunflowers and tulips, taking
photographs and cutting flowers to purchase.
"We just thought, 'We don't see the joy that the peonies bring
when we sell it wholesale,'" said Valérie Chort, one of the
owners of Fleur de Roy near Mitchell's Bay, Ont.
Fleur de Roy grows 17 varieties of peonies over 10 acres,
making for about 150,000 stems.
But until now, it had been shipping them off to market in
Toronto.
Now, after four years of commercial operations, the owners have
partnered with local vendors and florists to display art and
offer workshops in an effort to create an annual peony bloom
festival, Chort said.
Image | Peonies
Caption: Fleur de Roy Farm near Mitchell's Bay, Ont., grows 17
varieties of peonies over 10 acres making for about 150,000
stems, co-owner Valerie Chort said. (Submitted by Fleur de Roy
Farm)
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The Puddleford Tree Farm in Kent Bridge, meanwhile, will be
awash in sunflowers in about five weeks' time, according to
co-owner Matthew Whitney.
The farm grows about 20,000 of the flowers each year on about
two acres of land and raises money for the Alzheimer's Society
by charging visitors per car and per cut flower.
"We decided to do this because people love to go to see
sunflowers," Whitney said.
"They're a great thing to take photos of. And we wanted to give
people an opportunity to do that and not interfere with the
commercial growers who don't want people walking through their
fields. … People can come out and have a nice day and take some
nice photos and just enjoy the sunshine."
Image | Tulips
Caption: The co-owner of Hat Trick Farms in Blenheim said she
loves planting several colours of tulips in one field and then
watching the colours change over time. (Submitted by Hat Trick
Farms)
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The sunflowers at Puddleford are only around two inches high
right now, said co-owner Gail Whitney.
But tulip season is already at Hat Trick Farms in Blenheim,
Ont., and they also offered people a chance to pick their own
tulips.
The three-year-old operation got into tulip-growing because the
three siblings who own it only have a small land-base to work
with — so they had to focus on niche crops, said co-owner Lynne
Warriner.
They started growing winterberries late in the season, then
followed up with tulips as a spring crop.
"The response from the visitors has been quite rewarding,"
Warriner said.
"They come and visit the field, for taking pictures, the
majority of them — but they can also pick their own while
they're here."
Image | Sunflowers
Caption: Puddleford Tree Farm in Kentbridge, Ont., grows about
20,000 sunflowers each year on about two acres of land and
raises money for the Alzheimer's Society, its owners said.
(Submitted by Puddleford Tree Farm)
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The owners have taken to planting some fields in a multitude of
colours, and Warriner said she loves watching the colours
change as different varieties bloom at different times.
"Usually the orange and pink tulips are the first ones to
bloom," she said.
"But two to three weeks later, depending on how long our season
is, it's more purple and white in colour. So for us … it's
different to see how the field changes through the season."
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