ammi - U-Pick farms

Ammi, also known as “Bishop’s Flower” or “False Queen Anne’s Lace,” is a delicate, airy bloom that looks like a cloud of tiny white lace sitting atop long, slender stems. It’s a favorite for adding a whimsical, meadow-like feel to any space—and the best part? You can roam the pick-your-own fields in the Netherlands and snip your own bundle. Whether you’re meandering alone with a coffee in hand, or turning it into a sunny outing with friends and kids (who will love spotting the little umbels), hand-picking ammi is a joy. Look for stems where most of the tiny flowers are open, avoid any that look droopy or browned at the edges, and cut low to encourage regrowth. Bring a bucket of water for the car ride home—these stems drink up immediately.

Once you’re back, ammi is a dream for decorating. Because it’s not a heavy, heady flower, it plays well with others. Try these:

The “Cloudy Vase” – Fill a clear vase mostly with ammi, leaving the stems at varying heights. It looks like a soft, floating mist. Place it on a kitchen windowsill or a bedside table.
Wildflower Bouquet – Pair ammi with bright dahlias, sunflowers, or even a few stems of mint from the garden. The white lace softens bold colors beautifully.
Dried Wreath Base – Ammi dries wonderfully if hung upside down in a dark, dry spot. Use the dried heads as a delicate base for a wreath, adding dried lavender or eucalyptus later.
Table Scatter – Snip just the flower heads (with a tiny stem) and scatter them across a dining table for a fairy-tale, laid-back centerpiece. They look magical floating in low bowls of water too.

Since ammi is a flower (not a vegetable or fruit), skip the recipes and enjoy the lightness of just picking, arranging, and smiling at the little cloud you brought home.

Pluktuin de Melkweg

flowers, herbs

overijssel

Pluktuin de Melkweg is a self-picking flower garden located in Oud-Bergentheim, on the farm of the Timmermans family. The garden is part of a larger farmyard that also includes a young cattle barn, an agricultural daycare center, and an art studio. The name “Melkweg” (Milky Way) is a nod to the dairy cows that left the farm in 2020. The garden was first planted in spring 2021 on a piece of fallow land and has since expanded, including the addition of a greenhouse in 2023.

Pluktuin Lageweg

flowers, herbs, grasses

groningen

Pluktuin Lageweg is a publicly accessible flower garden located on the Lageweg in Bedum, Netherlands. Established in 2019 by Hero and Joke Beukema and their son Guillaume, the garden was created on land Hero had owned since the 1980s, with the goal of supporting local biodiversity and providing a natural, pesticide-free space for the community. The garden operates as a non-profit venture, with all proceeds reinvested into the garden’s upkeep, seeds, tools, and improvements. A team of family, friends, and volunteers helps maintain the grounds.

De Moestuin Utrecht

fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs

utrecht

We are a social enterprise and biological farm located on the eastern side of Utrecht, set on a 2.5‑hectare site that once belonged to a monastery and later became a city nursery. Today, the garden serves as a working farm, lunch café, farm shop, event venue, and recreational space. All cultivation is organic, and the farm provides work and training opportunities for people who have difficulty finding employment on the regular labour market. The site includes a large terrace, a children’s playground, an animal meadow, beehives, a herb garden, and a greenhouse called De Oranjerie that can be rented for parties, weddings, and business meetings.