Let brilliant blooms light up your life with the country’s best seasonal sunflower-picking spots.
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.
1. Sunflowers on Kents, Qld
Sunflowers love the sun (crazy, right?) so it makes sense that Australia’s Sunshine State keeps them blossoming longer than other states can.
Sunflowers on Kents flourish during summer. (Image: Bonnie Kittle)
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.
Snap photos of these beloved yellow blooms. (Image: Tourism Australia)
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
2. Farm & Co, NSW
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.
Sunflowers thrive all year round at Farm & Co. (Image: Sal Singh)
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.
Farm & Co is a magnet for sunflower fans. (Image: Sal Singh)
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
3. The Paddock, WA
The team at The Paddock have created the ultimate Instagram moment, building a sunflower-emblazoned door into their flourishing sunflower farm.
Spot a sunflower-emblazoned door at The Paddock.
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.
Catch the sunnies in all their towering glory.
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
4. Majura Valley Sunflower Maze, ACT
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.
Swoon over golden-topped blooms at the Majura Valley Sunflower Maze. (Image: Tourism Australia)
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.
Find fresh farm goodies at the produce store onsite. (Image: Shots By Sal Photography)
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
5. Warraba Sunflowers, Qld
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.
Pick Warraba Sunflowers during peak season. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)
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.
Take home as many sunflowers as you can carry. (Image: Mish and Kirk)
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
6. Pick Your Own Sunflowers, Vic
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.
Get your sunflower on at Pick Your Own Sunflowers farm. (Image: Ballarat City Council)
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.
Pick Your Own Sunflowers grow ridiculously tall blooms. (Image: Frank Carol)
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
7. Atkins Farm, SA
Make your day out in the Adelaide Hills even more special during the summer months with a visit to Atkins Farm in South Australia.
Atkins Farm is awash with rows of golden blooms.
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.
Pick Atkins Farm’s most vibrant blooms in early mornings or late afternoons.
Best time to visit: It’s open for a small window each January, so check the website for details.
Price: From $24 per person, which includes a bunch of stems to take home.
Address: Near Meadows, Adelaide Hills
8. PetTeet Park, WA
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.
The sunflowers at PetTeet Park are picture-perfect. (Image: Josh Geelen)
To get amongst the very rare experience of sunflower picking on this side of the country though, you’ll need to wait until Easter.
Sunnies only bloom once a year at PetTeet Park but they’re worth the wait. (Image: Aaron Burden)
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
9. Glenbernie Family Farms, NSW
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.
Make your sunflower fantasy come to life at Glenbernie Family Farms.
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
The post 9 picture-perfect places to go sunflower picking in Australia appeared first on Australian Traveller.
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