Bosley Patch, Henley
At this idyllic produce and flower farm near Henley, the season starts with anemones, tulips and ranunculas before the big, blousy dahlias have their moment, and then the roses and peonies. They’re available to buy by the stem or mixed with other gorgeous native varieties in bunches and sold April to October. You can pop along to the farm shop to buy a bouquet (and pick up your weekly veggies – we love the heritage tomatoes plus try to resist the home baked sourdough and cakes…), or order a bespoke bouquet for something special. Founder Tamsin has a stellar CV of the likes of the Fine Cheese Company, Daylesford and Baker & Spice so you can imagine, everything here is done with creativity and flair. Keep an eye on social for events and workshops like posy making.
Chiltern Sky Flowers, Bledlow Ridge
Alongside selling bouquets, subscriptions, and flowers by the stem, husband and wife team Fiona and Chris, are known for their flower arrangers’ buckets, with 30-50 stems in a gorgeous seasonal palette that you can take home and arrange yourself – also available in larger buckets for wedding flowers, for the really brave/creative couple. Orders need to be placed in advance and collected from the Bucks farm, though there are opportunities to have a look round on open days throughout the year and there’s a series of workshops on flower arranging, hand tie bouquets and flower farming, if you want to have a go at producing your own cut flowers.
Howe Farm, Dorton
If you want to choose and pick your own flowers, this Bucks farm offers PYO by appointment Thurs-Sat during the April-October flower season, but go one better and book in for the afternoon tea to enjoy a cuppa and slice of cake in the gorgeous secret garden before heading back into the real world. If you want a pro to put the bouquet together you can order for collection or delivery (as far as Thame) and get a gorgeous clutch of seasonal, sustainable flowers. Workshops include flower mornings to get a taster of how to grow gorgeous blooms, then a chance to learn how to make a bouquet and the obligatory tea and cake, or there’s the Full Monty – how to grow your own cut flowers course.
Green & Gorgeous, Wallingford
With workshops including flower growing, floristry and flower photography, plus one-to-one options, there’s a host of excuses to get through the gates and explore this bucolic corner of South Oxon. You can also book tours, buy just-picked produce from the farm gate on Saturdays, plus you can also pick up vegetables, fruit, eggs, seeds, plants and local hand-thrown pottery.
Babylon, Cuxham
Juliet Bennett’s Babylon Flowers initially supplied the trade and farmers’ markets from her dreamy seven-acre site shared with husband Rick’s wholesale plant nursery. Alongside wedding floristry she now offers DIY buckets of cut flowers, as well as bouquets for parties, funerals, gifts and just for the hell of it (you can even opt for a weekly delivery – just imagine!). Order online or call up.
Chippy Flower Farm, Chipping Norton
At the moment this two-acre plot in Little Tew is all about growing flowers sustainably and selling them in gathered buckets or loosely arranged bouquets for collection the next day. But the plan is to introduce events and workshops alongside its flower sales and subscription service (you can also sign up for the reminder nudge if you’re a tad forgetful about those important dates…).
Sweet Grace Flower Farm, Quainton
Laurel and Andrew set up their Bucks flower farm with the aim of growing chemical and pesticide-free and wildlife friendly flowers on their pretty site between Aylesbury Vale and The Chilterns. They sell gorgeous flowers by the bunch and bucketful as well as offering subscriptions and its fabulous ‘Dahlia Days’ which run every Thursday afternoon during August and September offering tips on how to grow and propagate the flowers and a chance to cut some blooms to take home yourself.
Dahlia Beach, Millets Farm
Dahlia Beach is the brainchild of insta star and former TV director, Andrea McDowell, who launched the endeavour when her wedding video business went a little on the quiet side during covid. Now she’s an internet/TV/media/Chelsea Flower Show sensation thanks to the PYO dahlia business she’s launched at Abingdon’s Millets Farm (bit of a one stop shop with its farm shop, PYO, garden centre, kids soft play, farm park and more…). The PYO flower farm is open August to November, and is also the site of workshops in how to grow and arrange dahlias alongside Poggy, Andrea’s bright pink open top double decker bus.
JUST OVER THE BORDER…
Micklems Farm, Knowl Hill, Berks
Micklems is a hive of creative activity, with a massive array of workshops on offer from batik and lino printing to furniture painting and floral design. The four-acre smallholding produces flowers and fruit which it sells in bunches for collection Thurs-Sat with the option of adding on tea in the garden.
Little Park Flowers, Brimpton, West Berks
A beautiful flower farm and florist, in the once neglected Victorian cottage gardens of a small country estate. Buy by the stem, the jam jar, the bunch and the bucketful, as well as arranged into beautiful hand-tied bouquets. Plus there’s events and arranging and growing workshops galore.
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