Pick flowers--and fun--on the prairie at Fleurish Flower Farm

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One of the prettiest corners of Siouxland is definitely Fleurish Flower Farm. With dozens of varieties of flowers, a historic summer kitchen, and charming owners, Fleurish Flower Farm is a must-visit for late summer in Siouxland. Here's why:

Where is Fleurish Flower Farm?

The street address for Fleurish Flower Farm is 47663 Highway 50 in Elk Point, South Dakota. It's just north of the actual town of Elk Point, not too far from I-29, about a half hour drive north of downtown Sioux City.

The farm is also accessible by private plane, with a small grass runway on property (their son flies!) 

What is Fleurish Flower Farm?

Fleurish Flower Farm is a beautiful one-acre farm, full of flowers planted by florist, photographer, and farmer Christy Heckathorn. The Heckathorns moved to Elk Point and started a seed corn operation in the mid-oughts, and in 2020 Christy Heckathorn decided to set aside a small section of their property (an acre or so) to become a flower farm. And boy did she succeed. The ambiance at Fleurish Flower Farm is truly magical. Now, on summery Sunday evenings, Fleurish Flower Farm hosts you-pick events and other special events, and there's a historic summer kitchen on the farm right at the heart of it. I'll share more details on that in a minute!

You-Pick Flower events at Fleurish Flower Farm

Fleurish Flower Farm now has dozens of varieties of flowers, including perennials and annuals, including some native prairie flowers. Different varieties bloom at different times of the summer, so these won't all be available every week, but some of the varieties they grow include:

• Chamomile
• Dahlias
• Gomphrena
• Lemon basil
• Lisianthus
• Marigolds
• Snapdragons
• Sunflowers
• Verbena
• Zinnias

Throughout the summer, Fleurish Flower Farm hosts many you-pick flower events. These are generally on Sunday evenings from 5pm to dusk but watch the Fleurish Flower Farm social media for announcements of other special events. At Fleurish Flower Farm You-Pick events, guests choose a container, grab a pair of scissors, and head to the flower rows. Then, they can sit at cute tables to arrange their flowers, listen to live music, and enjoy drinks and treats from local vendors.

Opening weekend for Fleurish Flower Farm's 2024 season was Sunday, July 21st with a VIP "First Bloom Experience" starting at 3:30 and regular you-pick hours beginning at 5pm. I got to bring my daughter to pick, and it was so much fun! We had so much fun choosing exactly which flowers we wanted, and I loved seeing my daughter's creativity in selecting the specific flowers she wanted for her bouquet and then arranging them exactly to her taste. 

And it was really fun seeing all the other people out picking flowers and enjoying the atmosphere. There were mothers and daughter groups with ages ranging from infants to senior citizens. There were sisters and cousins. There were groups of friends. And there were couples on dates. All seemed to be having a lovely time together picking flowers on a summer afternoon. 

While most of the You-Pick events at Fleurish Flower Farm start at 5pm, the First Bloom Experience started a bit earlier so we did get pretty hot! My daughter and I ended up splitting a "Caramel Apple Frozo" which was a really tasty, blended frozen apple cider with caramel, from Rainy Day Coffee, a food truck based in Beresford, South Dakota, and it was so good. It was definitely the perfect drink to cool us down!

We also bought a lemon poppyseed muffin and some oatmeal cream pies, all handmade by Elk Point Harvest. The flavor and texture were just perfect. I didn't even know oatmeal cream pies could taste that good!!

The Summer Kitchen at Fleurish Flower Farm

One of the cool architectural features of Fleurish Flower Farm is an old summer kitchen built from the farm's previous owner. I actually wrote about the Fleurish Flower Farm summer kitchen and the history of prairie summer kitchens more broadly for an issue of Living Here Midwest previously, and basically, summer kitchens as seen on the prairie were standalone kitchen buildings separate from the main house. At a time when most cooking still involved fire, these summer kitchens were built to reduce fire risk and keep the main house cool, and I think that was such a smart solution! It also meant that women doing hot work in summer had much better ventilation than they would have in their main house and much better protection from shade or storms than if they had been just working outside uncovered. But few of these charming buildings remain, and the summer kitchen at Fleurish Flower Farm might just be the best kept example of one that is still in good shape and open to the public to visit.

 

More information about Fleurish Flower Farm

To find out more about Fleurish Flower Farm, visit the Fleurish Flower Farm website, or connect with them on instagram and Facebook.