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Two nights ago, during my now-ritual 3 to 4 AM stretch of iPhone scrolling and Instagram-stalking, I happened upon a photo of an endless field of pink, purple, and white tulips. It looked magical. Even more magical: It was relatively close by. A quick search led me to a pick-your-own-flowers patch called Burnside Farms in Nokesville, Virginia.
I’m at home with my three year old, and I have been desperate to break the monotony of sidewalk chalk and pretend play (“Yes, you can be Elsa again”). So, 4 a.m. game time decision: I booked two tickets for yesterday afternoon—you have to buy them online and they’re now limited for social-distancing purposes.
In the fall, Burnside is taken over by fields of sunflowers. In spring, it’s devoted to tulips and daffodils—they plant 1.5 million bulbs. There were lots of little kids, and the occasional Insta photo shoot, but because there were so many flowers for the taking, it was super-easy to avoid people. We had many rows of tulips to ourselves. You can check the farm’s Instagram for updates on the fields.
The $13 adult ticket includes five tulip stems—the rest are $1 each ($1 more if you decide to take the bulb you may have pulled up with it); children over two years old are $8. There are mason jars and vases to buy, and a few refreshments, but that’s about it. During a regular spring, they’d also have bounce pads, cornhole, and wooden clogs to wear into the fields.
Burnside sits about an hour’s drive from DC. There was traffic on 66 on the way home, and for a short, short time, things felt kind of…normal? That alone was worth the price of admission. But the flowers are pretty gorgeous, too.
Burnside Farms, 11008 Kettle Run Rd., Nokesville, Virginia.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
