Learn the details about the sunflowers at Dix Park, as well as 13 other places in (or near) the Triangle to experience sunflowers in 2023.
Please make sure to know in advance which sunflower fields allow you to cut and purchase stems, and which are just for looking — and photo ops! Also, in some cases professional photographers will need to buy a pass in order to hold photo sessions. Make sure to follow links to go to the websites or social media accounts for the various farms and venues so that you can get the latest sunflower updates.
Sunflowers at Dix Park
The sunflowers at Dorothea Dix Park started blooming around July 13, 2023. Find complete information on Dix Park’s Sunflower page. Also, Dorothea Dix Park Facebook page is a good place for updates.
The sunflower field is off of Hunt Drive, near the former soccer fields and the historic cemetery. This map might help.
It’s free to visit 7 days a week, from dawn to dusk. Public parking is available in the gravel lot off Hunt Drive and in the parking lot near the Magnolia Room off Umstead Drive on weekdays. On weeknights and weekends you can use any paved lot.
You can also walk or bike to the park on the Rocky Branch Greenway.
Each Friday and Saturday during peak bloom there will be food trucks, and on Saturday evenings, there will be acoustic music and beer for purchase.
Food trucks:
- Fridays, July 14 and 21, from 5 to 9 p.m.
- Saturdays, July 15 and 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 5 to 9 p.m.
Music:
- Saturdays, July 15 and 22, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Visit dixpark.org/sunflowers for updates.
Firefly Farm
Firefly Farm
4911 Hunt Road, Hillsborough, NC 27278
Updates on Facebook
This small, family-owned farm is bursting with flowers. Guests can cut their own flowers for very reasonable prices throughout the spring and summer flower season. In general you can create a stunning bouquet of fresh flowers that you pick yourself, for $20. You can also meet the animals when you visit, including a mini-donkey! The farm is open to visitors on a schedule that you’ll find on their website. You need to make an appointment to visit. Follow Firefly Farm on Facebook or check their website to see which flowers are blooming at any particular time.
Huckleberry Trail Farm
Huckleberry Trail Farm
143 Pleasant Hill Church Road, Siler City, SC 27344
Updates on Facebook
Huckleberry Trail Farm has planted sunflowers for their 3rd annual Sunflower Fest! Sunflower Fest takes place Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 to 5 p.m., on August 5, 6, 12, 13, 2023. Admission is $4. Stems are $1 each. There’s over 30,000 square feet of sunflowers and a labyrinth to wander through!
Dogwood Farms
Dogwood Farms
8096 Belews Creek Road, Belews Creek, NC 27009
Sunflowers arrive early July
Updates on Facebook
Dogwood Farms is a flower farm northwest of Greensboro, so it’s about an hour and a half from Raleigh, but they take their sunflowers really seriously here! They hold U-cut days every day of sunflower season. The cost is $8-$10 to go into the fields, with children under 7 admitted for free. If you’d like to cut sunflowers there’s a charge of $1 a stem. You can expect the fields to be in bloom in early July. There will also be cosmos and zinnias to cut. Look for updates on their Facebook page.
Hill Ridge Farms
Hill Ridge Farms
703 Tarboro Road, Youngsville, NC 27496
Sunflower Days usually start mid-July
Updates on Facebook
Hill Ridge Farms offers plenty of fun farm activities, including animals, a train ride, hay rides and more. They even have a splashpad and water slide. Enjoy a covered wagon ride to and from the patch. The play park will be open and included with admission. Check back soon for updates for 2023.
North Carolina Museum of Art
North Carolina Museum of Art
2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607
Updates on Facebook and NCMA’s other social media channels
We haven’t heard the details for 2023 yet, but in past years, the North Carolina Museum of Art planted a 2.5-acre field of sunflowers and other summer flowers, like zinnias, in the Museum Park. It’s a fantastic spot for photos, and there’s a very high chance of butterfly sightings. Please don’t pick the flowers! In 2021, NCMA planted a second field, located below the Ellipse. If the museum does the same in 2023, you can explore all the sunflowers at NCMA and Dix Park via the Rocky Branch and Reedy Creek greenway trails. Both NCMA and Dix Park are home to Citrix Cycle Raleigh bike rental stations. Free to visit.
Please check back soon for 2023 information!
Maple View Farm Ice Cream
Maple View Farm Ice Cream
6900 Rocky Ridge Road, Hillsborough, NC 27278
Updates on Facebook
In 2022, there was a sunflower field at Maple View Farm Ice Cream! What could be better than ice cream with a view? While you enjoy some of the best ice cream in the Triangle, also enjoy the sunflowers. You’re welcome to take pictures or to cut a few. Please make a donation to Kids Path of AuthoraCare. We will update soon for 2023.
Cathis Farms
Cathis Farms
544 Falcon Road, Lillington, NC 27546
Updates on Facebook
Cathis Farms typically has a bunch of events scheduled during their Sunflower Days, which take place on weekends starting in mid-July. You’ll have the opportunity to pick your own bouquet of sunflowers with by-the-bunch and by-the-bucket options. The farm grows over 20 varieties of sunflowers. Check back soon for 2023 information.
Pace Family Farm
Pace Family Farm
12701 Buffalo Road, Clayton, NC 27527
Updates on Facebook
Pace Family Farm is well-known for its U-pick strawberries, but in the summer, typically, sunflowers take over! In past years, admission was free, and you had to pay just $1 a stem! Check back soon for updates on sunflowers in 2023.
Kersey Valley Attractions
Kersey Valley
1615 Kersey Valley Road, Archdale, NC 27263
Sunflowers typically arrive in September.
Updates on Facebook
Kersey Valley’s Sunflower Extravaganza, which features 15 acres of sunflowers, takes place in early fall. In 2022, tickets started at $15.
Phillips Farms of Cary
Phillips Farms of Cary
6701 Good Hope Church Road, Cary, NC 27519
Updates on Facebook
Phillips Farms offers activities for many seasons, including strawberry picking, a farmers’ market, a corn maze, a haunted farm, and Christmas trees. Sunflowers are typically part of their fall activities. Details will follow soon for 2023, but you can expect a chance to take some pictures and to cut your own sunflower to take home.
Hubb’s Farm
Hubb’s Farm
10276 N. US-421, Clinton, NC 28328
Updates on Facebook
Hubb’s Farm hosts many events, including movie nights, a corn maze, and a Polar Express night on the farm. In addition, it boasts tons of activities, like meeting farm animals, a treasure mine, a bale maze, a pumpkin patch, a zipline and much more. At the end of the summer you can typically add sunflowers to the list of things to enjoy. Check back soon (or look at Hubb’s Farm’s Facebook page) for updates about 2023.
Ken’s Korny Corn Maze
Ken’s Korny Corn Maze
3175 Benson Road, Garner, NC 27529
Updates on Facebook
Ken’s Korny Corn Maze, best known as a fall attraction, also typically has a sunflower field, which blooms in September.
15 Fun Sunflower Facts
There’s something magical about a sunflower, and people can’t resist being drawn to them. Here are some interesting sunflower facts!
- They are native to America.
- They need 6 to 8 hours of sun a day.
- They “keep their eye” on the sun. Young blossoms, in a behavior called “heliotropism,” will follow the sun during the day.
- The French word for sunflower is “tournesol,” which literally means “turns with the sun.”
- Mature sunflowers face east.
- The tallest sunflower on record was over 30 feet tall, but your typical tall sunflower reaches 12 to 16 feet.
- Dwarf sunflowers generally stay under 3 feet.
- The sunflower’s head is actually made of thousands of smaller flowers.
- U.S. astronaut Don Pettit brought sunflower seeds into space in 2012, and blogged about the the gardening process.
- Sunflowers have been used in foods, medicines, dyes and oils.
- You can use sunflowers as a homemade scrubbing pad.
- Not all sunflowers are yellow. There are also red and purple varieties.
- Sunflowers can self-pollinate if no bees are around to transfer pollen to the stigma. The stigma can twist around to reach its own pollen, and in that case, will produce seeds that grow into plants identical to the one they came from.
- There are about 70 species of sunflowers.
- Sunflowers are sometimes used for biofuel.
Double-Check Before You Head Out!
We make every effort to make sure that everything on Triangle on the Cheap is 100% accurate.
However, sometimes things change without notice, and it's also possible that we can make a mistake.
Please verify all deals and events with the venue or organizer before you go.
