Burnside Farms

So lucky to have a sunflower farm so close to home! The staff here are extremely friendly and helpful. I came here with my little sister as a sister date and the staff overheard us talking about where to pick flowers and chimed right in to give advice about which ones are in the right condition to be picked! I also had two different staff members volunteer to take a picture of the two of us during and after we picked the flowers.
The field is quite big and offers a variety of sunflowers to pick from. It was so hard to just pick three each, we wanted to pick all of them! Definitely a nice experience and would do it again next summer!

If you’re headed there to cut flowers, you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re hoping for great photos, I’d temper your expectations. I appreciated the variety of types of sunflowers, but the fields were kind of thin. If you’ve been to McKee Beshers or Harford County, Burnside can’t come close to the sheer number and density of those fields, and you can’t get in before 9am when the light is best. Not worth the drive from Bethesda for the photos. But, again, if you’re here to cut your own flowers, I saw plenty of pretty bouquets being assembled, and you may leave happy.
Having said all that, my camera and I will give them another chance in spring for tulip season — because I don’t know of another big tulip field option around here.

After seeing so many of my friend’s pictures on social media, I had to check out this beautiful place. Highly recommend! The staff was very friendly and the tulips were beautiful! Easy to navigate to as well. We went for the day and picked tulips and carnations. Inexpensive and very relaxing. Was surprised at how busy they were on a Tuesday morning! Everyone seemed to really enjoy this place. The flowers were beautiful and the atmosphere was very peaceful. They have a few picnic tables which was perfect to enjoy our lunch we brought with us. Tons of great photo opportunities :) Cant wait to go back in the fall when sunflowers are in season!

What a fun and easy place to pick tulips and wrap them up for Mother‘s Day. I plan to do this next year. I had so much fun.

Waste of money. Why a flower «store» would need to charge people admission was beyond me until I actually got suckered into dropping four dollars on this piece of crap.
Several of the flowers were dead, and as it turns out most people are there for photo ops with their family and children. So really you’re paying admission so other people can come take photos.
Bottom line is that Burnside Farms is double dipping its customers. First you pay to get in, then you pay for flowers.
It took us all of ten minutes to walk this place, and be done.

This is my second year visiting the farm and I am enjoying it this year as much as I did last year.
The key is to follow the farm on Facebook as they tell you the conditions of the fields and the status of the flowers almost every day as updates warrant due to weather, heat, etc.
Their website also gives you excellent information on how to pick the flowers and how to keep them fresh at home.
Also, if you follow them on Facebook, they had pre-​season specials for season passes and gift –card discounts this year.
The staff is very knowledgeable and super friendly. It’s best to go when it’s not so busy and they will tell you their busy times.

I’m happy to report that the parking lot and driveway entrance situation has been significantly improved. They have widened the fence so now two cars can pass through. They have also marked off areas for pedestrians to walk which was crucial. The drive in is still narrow but the flow has improved thanks to the adjustments. Hopefully they can improve the driveway with some proper gravel and grading work.
The pesky danger spots on the grounds remain, but I have a feeling they will get those taken care of as they have marked them off accordingly.
It still remains a great place to pick flowers and snap some great pictures!

We went there this past weekend to collect tulips. the fields were nice and had many tulips but we were confronted by the Tulip-​Nazi :p
basically, you are supposed to pick only the tulips that you intend to buy and our toddler son was enjoying the experience a bit too much and picking some then not putting them in the basket. one of the ladies working in the farm kept following us and demanding that we pay for every flower we pick. We acknowledge that and we promised that we will yet she kept harassing us. We asked for the manager and he was extremely apologetic to the behavior of the rude lady.
we did end up paying for everything we picked and we did have a good time with our friends but I do not think that we will be back…
they seem to be focused on making the most money they can rather than ensuring a great experience for their visitors…

As of this Spring — Burnside Farms now has two physical locations. The original location is still around — and will be used in the Autumn for their Pumpkin/​squash/​gourd sales, and in December for Christmas Tree sales.
I visited the new site off of Logmill Road. Mike Dawley, the owner, is leasing the site from a local landowner. The new site, which is much larger — allows him to greatly expand his «Holland in Haymarket» themed tulip/​daffodil event, while resting the fields at the original location (they need to be rested for 3 years to allow for the soil to become re-​enriched with nutrients, and provide for a lot more parking spaces).
It was a cold, overcast morning the Saturday I visited (April 25, 2015). But the place was getting a lot of visitors anyway! Lots of folks visiting, taking pictures, picking/​buying flowers, and having fun!
I bought a season pass as I do every year. I walked the fields taking photos and enjoying the families enjoying themselves.
One fenced enclosure had a little wagon placed inside with a Turkey strutting about, the little kids loved that!
One thing to be aware of is area entering and exiting the parking lot — they need to work on expanding the entrance through the fence, it’s one car at-​a-​time, and you also need to watch out for folks walking to and from the Farm from the parking lot.
A neat and fun operation! Check them out! And remember to visit the original location in the Autumn for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations!