I recently made a fun discovery….there are flower fields near Chicago for you to pick your own flowers!!! But what’s also great about this? They also look great in photos! What??? And the bonus is that it can be a fun family activity!
I’m going to be honest. I don’t know about the many varieties of flowers. Sure, I know peonies, hydrangeas, and roses. And to be even more honest, I had never really heard about zinnias before this weekend. But after seeing them in person…I’m obsessed with them. I love their bright colors! Any bunch you pick is a pretty bunch!
What are zinnias?
Zinnias are annuals that are part of the sunflower tribe within the
daisy family with many vibrant colors.
Flower Picking at Thompson Strawberry Farm
On Labor Day we decided to drive an hour outside Chicago to Thompson Strawberry Farm in Bristol, Wisconsin to see the zinnia patch. It was only an hour drive from Chicago so it made for a fun afternoon excursion with my family.
Thompson Strawberry Farm has more than just strawberries for picking They also have sunflowers and raspberry, depending on the time of the year. And they have zinnias! It was $25/car to enter the farm and you can pick up to 2 dozen flowers to take home. Not a bad deal.
We decided to forgo the sunflower field at Thompson Strawberry Farm on Monday since had already been to the sunflower field at Matthiessen State Park. Besides, there were so many people at the sunflower field that we thought it was a better idea to stay away from the crowds.
When we got to the zinnia patch, it felt like we had the whole field to ourselves as everyone else was busy with the sunflowers. We put the twins in the Radio Flyer wagon, who were happy eating their snacks. I got a chance to cut some flowers by them and got some pictures in the process.
When it was time to get the twins in the zinnia patch, they didn’t want any of it. Instead they wanted to run around the field. So that’s what we did with them for awhile. We tried again to get them to see the flowers but at that point they were in full meltdown mode and we knew we needed to go home.
I learned that zinnias attract bees as there were many bees in the patch pollenating. I didn’t worry too much about the bees because I figured they were after the flowers, not me. Luckily, I left the field with no bee stings.
Hopefully next year everyone will get to enjoy the zinnia patch. I know I got to briefly enjoy it.
Where Else To pick Zinnia Flowers Near Chicago
If you’re looking for other zinnia flower fields near Chicago, check out Johnson’s Farm Produce (we might just go there this coming weekend.) shhhh….don’t tell the twins. Johnson Farms Produce is located in Hobart, Indiana about an hour south of Chicago.
