05 September 2024
7 mins Read
The most feel-good flower of them all, sunflowers burst with golden optimism. It’s why sunshine-flushed fields, awash with rows of the beloved yellow blooms, are the stuff of dreams, creating ethereal backdrops as you snap photos or snip a bunch to take home.
Most sunflower farms across the country open their gates for just a small period at a time, ensuring the seasonal destinations are well-trodden no matter where they’re located. Here, we collate the best sunflower-picking spots in Australia to help you catch them when you can.
Sunflowers love the sun (crazy, right?) so it makes sense that Australia’s Sunshine State keeps them blossoming longer than other states can.
At Sunflowers on Kents in Queensland’s Scenic Rim, pretty petals flourish during summer but also at other times throughout the year.
Located in the farming town of Kalbar, home to an annual Kalbar Sunflower Festival and several other sunflower-picking fields, this place features a coffee van that also serves snacks so it’s a fabulous morning out.
Best time to visit: It’s open for various windows throughout the year, so check their Instagram for details.
Price: $15 per person, which includes five sunflowers to take home.
Address: 10 Kents Lagoon Road, Kalbar
Committed to keeping their sunflowers thriving all year round, the team at Farm & Co rotate their crops so there’s always new growth gearing up to bloom. Located in Cudgen, within the Tweed Shire on NSW’s north coast (and very close to the NSW-Queensland border) this hot spot isn’t just a magnet for flower fans.
Its restaurant is one of the best farm-to-fork dining experiences in the region and the farm itself is also dotted with macadamia trees (you can crack their shells right on site) and farm animals, making it extremely family-friendly.
Best time to visit: All year round, however January to March brings the best conditions for growth.
Price: $7 per person, and it’s $4 per stem to take home.
Address: 529 Cudgen Road, Cudgen
The team at The Paddock have created the ultimate Instagram moment, building a sunflower-emblazoned door into their flourishing sunflower farm.
The south west WA hot spot near Busselton is only open for a flash in the heat of summer so plan ahead to catch the sunnies in all their towering glory. Cold drinks and snacks, including locally cooked pastries, are also on hand to help quench January’s heat.
Best time to visit: It’s open for a small window each January, so check the website for details.
Price: Choose from a $10, $20 or $30 donation per bucket of stems you snip.
Address: Boyanup Picton Road, Crooked Brook, two hours south of Perth
For about three weeks each year, the Majura Valley Sunflower Maze opens its doors at the Majura Valley Free Range Eggs farm in Canberra.
An incredible outdoor adventure for nature lovers, it’s wheelchair accessible however be warned that the track isn’t always even.
There’s also a produce store to help you stock up on fresh farm goodies, plus you can bring a picnic rug and supplies (for a fee) if you’re keen to stay a while.
Best time to visit: It’s open for a small window around March, so check the website for details.
Price: $10 per person, and it’s $3 per stem to take home, with no more than five stems per person.
Address: Majura House, 728 Majura Road, Majura
A family-run hot spot in rural Toowoomba, Warraba Sunflowers is a sunflower-picking farm that lets visitors take home as many as they can carry.
As a reward for all that hard work, you might even find woodfire pizza ovens roasting up an assortment of delectable varieties — the team have been known to bring in the snacks when peak sunflower season rolls around.
Best time to visit: It’s open for various windows throughout the year, so check their Instagram or website for details.
Price: $10 per person, and you can pick as many sunflowers as you can carry.
Address: 439 McNallys Road, Cambooya
One of the few destinations in Victoria to let you get your sunflower on, Pick Your Own Sunflowers is a farm that’s open once a year. But don’t go thinking the quality of its crop isn’t as mighty as those found further north.
Located in Dunnstown, just outside Ballarat, the farm is robust and grows ridiculously tall blooms, much to the delight of thick crowds who swarm when the timing’s right.
Best time to visit: It’s open for a small window between February and March every year, so check the website for details.
Price: $10 per person, and it’s $4 per stem to take home.
Address: Corner Howards Road and Navigator Dunnstown Road, Dunnstown
Make your day out in the Adelaide Hills even more special during the summer months with a visit to Atkins Farm in South Australia.
The sunflower-picking farm is open for a couple of weeks at a time with the most vibrant blooms ripe for snipping during early mornings or late afternoons.
A ticket will give you 50 minutes to stickybeak the golden-topped stems with photography highly encouraged.
Best time to visit: It’s open for a small window each January, so check the website for details.
Price: From $32 per person, which includes a bunch of stems to take home.
Address: Near Meadows, Adelaide Hills
Their sunnies only bloom once a year but PetTeet Park in Western Australia’s Gilgering on the Great Southern Highway is a great day out for plenty of reasons. Home to bright yellow canola fields, the farm is also known for its fresh produce store and kid-friendly farm animal encounters.
To get amongst the very rare experience of sunflower picking on this side of the country though, you’ll need to wait until Easter.
Best time to visit: It’s open for a small window around April, so check the website for details.
Price: $20 per person, and sunflower picking is only allowed at the end of the seasonal window.
Address: 1625 Qualen West Road, Gilgering
A totally slick spot for sunflower picking in NSW, Glenbernie Family Farms is a one-hour drive from Sydney and worth every inch of effort. They tend to open for a few weeks in the cooler months and when they do, expect all the bells and whistles to help celebrate their field of dreams. A jumping castle, farm animal encounters, firepit sessions, great coffee and hot food are typically onsite.
Best time to visit: During winter and spring, but check the website for specific details.
Price: $10 per person, and it’s $5 per stem to take home.
Address: 610 Bells Line of Road, Kurmond
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