Elderslie Farm, known for its blackberries, is adding another you-pick option
Elderslie Farm — the Kechi business known for its you-pick blackberry brambles, its outdoor breakfast cafe and its fine-dining restaurant — is about to gear back up for the spring and summer season. Its outdoor cafe reopens May 2.
This year, visitors will discover a colorful new addition: a you-pick flower patch that will allow them to select and cut their own bouquets of zinnias, snap dragons, sunflowers and wildflowers.
Katharine Elder, who along with her husband, George, established the idyllic 200-acre farm as an activity-filled escape from city life, said that George got the idea for the you-pick business at a blackberry growers’ conference early this year.
The Elders, who in May 2024, closed the goat creamery they had attempted on the property, are always thinking about long-term plans for their business, Katharine said. George is the big planner.
“He met a number of people who have flower patches attached to their you-pick operations,” Katharine said. “. . . He came home and announced he was planting flowers.”
He chose a section of ground just off the north side of the cafe patio and got to planting. The flowers won’t be ready for picking until mid-May, Katharine said, but once they’re blooming, the patch should continue producing into late July. George is considering planting some fall flowers as well.
Bouquets will cost $9 each,
“It’s just a fun way to add a layer to the on-site goings on and be able to bring people out and kind of extend the morning,” Katharine said.
The farm will celebrate the start of the outdoor season at an event called Blossom Fest, which is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 2. Visitors will be able to enjoy live music, local vendors, a petting zoo and lawn games.
May 2 will also be the opening day for the Bramble Cafe, which serves biscuits and gravy, lemon ricotta pancakes, coffee, blackberry lemonade, morning cocktails and other seasonal food-and-drink items. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays through May 27. After that, the cafe will begin opening from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays as well. Bramble Cafe closes in late September.
The flower patch will keep the same hours as Bramble Cafe.
During Blossom Fest, people will also be able to take $6 rides on the farm’s Berry Ferry, which is used to transport customers to the farm’s nearby blackberry brambles. Though the berries won’t be ready for picking until the second week of June, people who ride the Berry Ferry will be able to see the bramble’s first blooms.
Elderslie Farm’s fine-dining restaurant also is open by reservation from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings. It offers a large menu of small plates and appetizers, and people can also opt for a multi-course chef’s tasting menu.
Elderslie Farm is at 3501 E. 101st St. North in Kechi. For more information, visit eldersliefarm.com/
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 9:45 AM.
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