poppy

So you’ve decided to channel your inner artist and head out to a Dutch farm to pick your own poppies. Fantastic choice! There’s something deeply satisfying about wandering through rows of vibrant white, pink, and purple blooms, feeling the soft petals between your fingers, and carefully snipping each stem. It’s like stealing a piece of a summer painting. Grab a pair of scissors, a bucket of water, and a few friends or family members—because everything is more fun when someone inevitably gets pollen on their nose. The flowers bloom from June to August; cut them just below the flower head when the petals are fully open but not yet drooping. Pro tip: pick in the morning, when it’s cooler and less windy. If the farm allows, leave a few seed heads on the stalks so the plants can seed themselves for next year.

Some farms also let you harvest the seed pods, from July to September. Wait until a pod is brown, dry and hard and the seeds rattle inside when you shake it; green pods are not ripe yet. Cut or snap off the pod with a bit of stem attached, and carry it carefully, as dry pods spill their seeds easily. Ask the farm which poppies they grow and what you may pick.

Once you’ve got your armful of happy blooms, what do you do with them? Use them fresh in a big, wild bouquet—just be aware that they bruise easily, so hold them by the stems and handle like tiny royalty. For a more permanent display, try pressing them between heavy books (or in a flower press if you’re fancy) to create art for cards or frames. Dry the seed pods for a dramatic, architectural winter arrangement—they look like little urns with a crown. Or collect the dried petals for crafts and potpourri.

Poppy seeds in the kitchen

The seeds are the only edible part of the poppy; the leaves and stems are not edible. At home, shake the dry pods over a bowl to release the seeds and sift out any debris. Don’t wash them. Stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place, they keep for 6–12 months. Their nutty, slightly sweet flavour is lovely in poppy seed bread (maanzaadbrood) or butter cookies.

Hortus Populus

flowers, vegetables, herbs, berries

zuid-holland

Hortus Populus in Bodegraven is a community garden where visitors can pick their own vegetables, herbs and flowers. The farm grows seasonal produce without pesticides or artificial fertilisers, including Roman varieties such as beans, endive, cabbage, onions, fennel and carrots, as well as herbs like anise, mint and lovage. The vegetable garden is open from March to November, with picking available on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings from 9.00 to 12.30. The flower field, where you can cut your own bouquets, is open from mid-May to November on Fridays and Saturdays from 10.00 to 12.00. Flowers cost €0.75 per stem, and greenery is free. You pay at the farm shop, which also sells preserves, syrups, teas and locally sourced cheese.

Flora Marita

flowers

overijssel

Flora Marita in Hasselt is a pick-your-own flower farm where visitors can cut seasonal blooms directly from the field. The farm grows a variety of summer flowers, including poppies, gilia, zinnias, cosmos, daucus, sunflowers, cornflowers and strawflowers. All flowers are grown without artificial fertiliser or pesticides. The farm is currently closed for picking in 2026, but typically opens from July to September on Friday and Saturday mornings. Visitors receive a brief introduction, a picking basket and scissors, and may cut around 20 to 25 stems per bouquet. The owner arranges the flowers into a finished bouquet for an additional fee. Coffee, tea and homemade cake are available as part of a “combi deal” for groups.

Voedselbos & Pluktuin Stichting Heer ikigai Stompetoren

flowers, vegetables, herbs, berries

noord-holland

At Heer Ikigai in Stompetoren you pick your own flowers and seasonal vegetables from a pluktuin and food forest. The farm grows over twenty types of cut flowers, including cornflowers, sunflowers, poppies, coriander, fennel and gypsophila, as well as summer grains such as wheat and oats. Vegetables include courgettes, beans, tomatoes, peppers and cabbage, depending on the season. The pluktuin is open from late June until November, Friday to Sunday, 13.00 to 16.00. You pay for flowers by the bunch using a QR code at the small roadside booth on the car park. Check the farm’s social media before you visit to confirm what is in bloom. The food forest is open year-round, with volunteer work mornings on the second Saturday of each month from 09.00 to 12.00.

Tuinderij De Groenteboer Biologische zelfoogsttuin

fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs, berries

utrecht

Tuinderij De Groenteboer in Kamerik is a pick-your-own organic vegetable and flower garden where visitors harvest their own produce directly from the field. The farm grows around 60 types of vegetables, herbs and soft fruit, including spinach, broad beans, peas and turnip greens in spring; carrots, beetroot, broccoli and strawberries in summer; parsnips and pumpkins in autumn; and kale and leeks in winter. The season runs from May to December, with roughly 30 weeks of harvest.