Discover U-Pick farms

Field of corn ready to be picked

Discover U-Pick farms

Asters farms

Oh, the humble aster—nature’s little starburst, bursting into color just when summer starts to yawn and autumn tiptoes in. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like a cloud-herder or a garden sorcerer, grab a pair of snips, round up your crew (or just yourself, no judgment), and head to one of the many pick-your-own farms in the Netherlands. The best part? Asters are tough little beauties—they don’t wilt the second you look at them, so you can take your time.

Selecting and Hand-Picking Asters

Wander through the rows of purple, pink, white, and deep magenta blooms. Look for flowers that are fully open—those tight buds won’t open much more once cut. Give the stem a gentle shake; if a few petals rain down, that aster is past its prime. Choose stems with plenty of side buds still closed, so they’ll keep unfurling in your vase. Snip low on the stem, at an angle, with clean shears. Don’t be shy—load up a bucket. The more you pick, the bushier the plants will grow. Bring a friend for the chatter, or just your headphones for a solo zen session. Farms often provide the snips and buckets, but a sturdy pair of garden gloves never hurts.

How to Use Them Once You’re Home

Asters are the ultimate “throw them in anything and they look good” flower. No fuss. Here are some ways to enjoy them:

Vase Arrangements: Grab a big, chunky mason jar or a rustic pitcher. Strip the lower leaves (they get slimy in water), trim stems, and arrange by color or in a wild, mixed-up jumble. They last a good week.
Dried Wreath or Garland: Hang small bunches upside down in a dark, dry spot for two weeks. Once dried, wire them onto a grapevine wreath or string them into a garland for your mantel. The colors fade a little but stay soft and nostalgic.
Table Scatter: Snip just the flower heads and let them float in shallow bowls of water. Instant centerpiece, zero effort.
Pressed Flower Art: Place blooms between the pages of a heavy book (with wax paper on both sides). Wait a week, then frame them or glue onto thank-you cards.

Because asters are flowers, we’ll skip the cooking recipes, but here’s a lovely tea you can brew from dried aster blossoms (use only organically grown, pesticide-free petals).

Aster Petal Tea

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon dried aster petals (any color)
1 cup boiling water
A drizzle of honey (optional)
A slice of lemon (optional)

Instructions: Place the petals in a teapot or mug. Pour boiling water over them and steep for 5–7 minutes. The tea will turn a soft, peachy-bronze. Strain or just let the petals settle. Add honey and lemon if you like. The flavor is mild, floral, and a little grassy—like a whisper of chamomile and honeydew. Sip it in the afternoon while staring at your patch of picked flowers. Very Dutch, very nice.

So whether you’re cutting a rainbow of asters for the kitchen table or drying them for a winter wreath, you’re basically bottling the last laugh of summer. Go on—get picking.

Moestuin Vollenhoven

flowers, vegetables, berries
utrecht

Moestuin Vollenhoven is a historical, regenerative vegetable garden located on the Landgoed Vollenhoven estate in De Bilt. The garden is tended by a small team of dedicated gardeners and a group of volunteers, and it operates with a strong focus on biodiversity, soil health, and sustainable growing methods without artificial fertilizers or chemical pesticides. The site features historic greenhouses dating back to the 1800s and 1854, as well as a new 0.6-hectare extension added to the original one-hectare plot.

Tuinderij De Groenteboer Biologische zelfoogsttuin

fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs, berries
utrecht

Tuinderij de Groenteboer is a biological self-picking farm and flower garden located on the grounds of Boerderij de Boerinn in Kamerik, just north of Woerden. The farm focuses on natural cultivation methods, working with the seasons and biodiversity to grow a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, soft fruits, and flowers without artificial fertilizers or pesticides. As a self-picking garden, members can harvest approximately 60 different types of seasonal vegetables and soft fruits. The picking season runs from May to December, about 32 weeks per year. Spring offerings include spinach, broad beans, pea shoots, and turnip tops. Summer brings carrots, beets, broccoli, and strawberries. Autumn offers parsnips and pumpkins, while winter features kale and leeks. Members receive a weekly harvest mail with guidance on what is available.

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.

Eric Sleutjes Bloemen en Planten

flowers
noord-brabant

Eric Sleutjes Bloemen en Planten is a family-run operation in Sint-Michielsgestel that has been a staple in the local community for over 65 years. The business combines a plant nursery, a flower shop (bloemisterij), a pick-your-own flower garden (pluktuin), and a seasonal tea house (theehuis). The pick-your-own garden is open from July until the first frost, offering roughly 80 to 90 varieties of flowers. Visitors can pick asters, roses, delphiniums (ridderspoor), phlox, cosmos, dahlias, zinnias, and sunflowers to create their own field bouquets.

Corien Veron Bloem en Atelier Pluktuin

flowers, grasses
noord-brabant

At Corien Veron Bloem en Atelier Pluktuin in Esbeek, the focus is on locally grown, biological flowers cultivated with respect for nature and the seasons. The farm features a pick-your-own flower garden where visitors can cut their own bouquets from approximately 50 to 60 different varieties, including asters, sunflowers, phlox, cosmos, zinnias, dahlias, and ornamental grasses. The pick-your-own garden is open from June through September when the flowers are in full bloom. In addition to self-picking, pre-made, freshly cut bouquets are also available for purchase. The business provides floral arrangements for weddings, funerals, and special occasions, and offers creative workshops for groups of six or more that focus on seasonal themes. The on-site atelier also sells dried flowers. The location is wheelchair accessible with designated parking. Payment can be made by credit card, debit card, or contactless mobile payment. Services include in-store pickup and delivery. Business is conducted by appointment only.

De Boschhoeve

flowers, herbs, grasses
gelderland

De Boschhoeve is a nursery, garden, and tea garden located in Wolfheze, established nearly forty years ago. It features open gardens with inspirational borders for spring, summer, and autumn, an orchard, and a shade garden. The large pick-your-own flower garden offers a wide variety of seasonal, unsprayed flowers. Visitors can pick a colorful bouquet of perennials, annuals, and dahlias, with the picking season generally starting in late May and continuing until the end of the season in October. The large number of dahlias provides a vibrant foundation for bouquets throughout the summer and into the autumn. Visitors are advised to bring their own bucket and pruners for transporting their freshly picked flowers.

Buurttuin Zoete Aarde

flowers, fruit
zuid-holland

Buurttuin Zoete Aarde is a community-run urban farm located along the Broekwegzijde in Zoetermeer, where a former apple and pear orchard planted over 70 years ago has been transformed into a green meeting place. Managed entirely by volunteers, this garden offers a space where sustainability, creativity, and community come together. The farm is open daily from 10:00 to 16:00 during its main season, which runs from April through October. Visitors can self-pick a variety of produce including apples (such as Goudrenet and Golden Delicious), pears (such as Conference, Beurré Hardy, Legipont, and the stewing pears Saint Remy and Gieser Wildeman), and an assortment of berries including red and black currants, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. The flower picking garden features a wide range of blooms such as asters, bergamot, chrysanthemums, gypsophila, hydrangeas, hypericum, sweet peas, salvias, tulips, and sunflowers, which can be harvested when in season. The farm also maintains a natural vegetable garden and a herb garden.

de Warmoes

fruit, vegetables, flowers, berries
gelderland

De Warmoes is a historic market garden located in Lent, near Nijmegen. Rooted in the traditions of the “warmoezeniers” (the historical market gardeners who supplied the city), this non-profit foundation cultivates over one hundred different varieties of vegetables, fruits, and herbs year-round. Farming is done without chemical pesticides, focusing on biodiversity and circular methods. The garden also features an orchard with high-stem fruit trees, a flower garden, greenhouses, and bee colonies, all spread across approximately one hectare.

De Zonnegaard

flowers, fruit, herbs, berries
gelderland

De Zonnegaard is a certified biodynamic farm located in Voorst, Netherlands. The farm is dedicated to building healthy soil through centuries-old farming traditions, using certified organic manure, a wide crop rotation, and green manures. They prioritize flavor over yield, sometimes choosing lower-producing crop varieties for their superior taste. Visitors can self-pick flowers in the pick-your-own flower garden from the end of March through October. The season begins with tulips and daffodils, followed by spring flowers like columbine, summer blooms such as cornflowers, zinnias, and cosmos, and continues into autumn with dahlias and asters. When ripe, visitors can also pick small fruit like berries and raspberries, as well as various kitchen herbs.

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.

Stadsboerin Doetinchem

flowers
gelderland

Stadsboerin Doetinchem is a social urban farm established on the former prison grounds of De Kruisberg in Doetinchem. Spanning 3.5 hectares, the site includes a vegetable garden, orchard, food forest, butterfly garden, and a flock of Ouessant sheep and free-range chickens. A central farmhouse serves as a shop and lunchroom, where meals are prepared daily using produce harvested from the land. The farm cultivates at least 50 different varieties of vegetables annually, all grown without chemical sprays. In the orchard and food forest, 70 different fruit trees have been planted, including jostaberries, red and blue berries, and medlars. A seasonal flower-picking garden is open from July 1st, offering a self-pick experience for 9.50 euros per bunch. The on-site shop sells fresh, unsprayed vegetables, eggs from the farm’s chickens, meat from humanely raised animals, homemade jams and chutneys, bread from a local organic bakery, cheese, yoghurt, and other regional products.

Pluktuin Amstelveen

flowers, vegetables
noord-holland

Pluktuin Amstelveen is a flower farm, pick-your-own garden, and tea garden located at Amsteldijk Zuid 183b in Amstelveen. The business is operational and also functions as a florist. The garden is open year-round, with seasonal flowers changing throughout the four seasons. Visitors can wander through the fields and self-pick flowers, such as spring bloomers, colorful summer flowers, and autumnal varieties. The gardens are open from Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and on Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The farm is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Credit cards and contactless mobile payments are accepted. In addition to self-picking, the farm also offers workshops, creative arrangements for children’s parties, and a webshop for bouquets and floral work.

Tuinen van Hartstocht

vegetables, flowers, herbs
utrecht

Tuinen van Hartstocht is a self-harvest garden located in Abcoude, on the premises of Boerderij Hartstocht at Gein Zuid 26. Operating as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, it offers members the opportunity to harvest their own vegetables and cut flowers throughout the growing season, grown using natural methods without pesticides or artificial fertilizers. As a member of the vegetable garden, you can pick a wide variety of seasonal produce for approximately 30 weeks, from the end of April until mid-November, depending on weather conditions. The selection changes with the seasons and includes lettuce, pak choi, beets, chard, kale, palm kale, beans, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, fennel, red cabbage, peppers, various herbs, and lesser-known varieties such as blue kohlrabi, spicy Asian salad, and edible flowers. The garden is open for harvesting seven days a week during daylight hours.