With the arrival of spring comes sunshine, warmer temperatures, and a serious call to enjoy the outdoors. Luckily, there are a variety of farms just outside the Birmingham city limits (and even one downtown), where you can find plenty of opportunities to enjoy and explore the season’s offerings. Say goodbye to that spring fever, gather the family or a group of friends, and let’s go!
Blue Rooster Farms
141 Leisure Ln, Sterrett, Alabama, 35147 • (205) 618-8866
Flower fans won’t want to miss the “Flower Walks” scheduled at Blue Rooster Farms this summer. Situated in Shelby County, Blue Rooster Farms became a flower-focused farm back in 2020, and they have approximately 30 to 40 varieties growing at any given time. Fun fact: They plant more than 10,000 flowers each season, so there is always something blooming. Flower walks are scheduled throughout the summer, allowing visitors to tour the fields. (There’s no better spot to capture those Instagram-worthy pictures!) Plus, you can learn all about the flowers and even create your own beautiful bouquet to take home.
Foxhound Bee Company
424 9th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203 • (205) 670-1337
Hours and class times vary; check their website for information.
If you’re looking for an authentic, one-of-a-kind experience you won’t find anywhere else, make your plans for a Beekeeping Experience and Hive Tour with Foxhound Bee Company.
Beekeeping was a decades-long hobby for Foxhound Bee Company owner Adam Hickman, but two years ago, he turned that hobby into a full-time business. Foxhound Bee Company offers the only beekeeping supply store in Alabama, and it’s conveniently located in downtown Birmingham. In addition to maintaining a supply store, the company provides educational classes to anyone interested in learning about bees. Foxhound Bee Company hosts the Beekeeping Experience and Hive Tour at their downtown shop, allowing visitors to suit up and experience honey bees firsthand (including opening up the hives and tasting the honey)!
Holmestead Farm
6582 Clay County Road 7, Talladega, AL 35160 • (256) 404-4316
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Check their Facebook page for updates on when u-pick officially begins.
There’s always something in season at Holmestead Farm. The Talladega farm’s 25-acre property features strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, peaches, pears, plums, persimmons, and even Meyer lemons when they’re in season. You can pick your own or check out the Holmestead Country Store, where you’ll find produce galore. You can also snag savory produce like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and turnip greens. Plus, they’ve got jams, jellies, butters, syrups, preserves, and even their famous fried pies. If you’d prefer to pick fruit in your own backyard — you can also purchase a tree at Holmestead Farm.
Lyon Blueberry Farm
1700 County Road 56, Wilsonville, AL 35186 • (205) 864-5701
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday
Tentatively opens the first week of June. Check their Facebook page for updates.
For over 20 years, Lyon Blueberry Farm has offered a chance to pick blueberries straight off the bushes, and with approximately 2.5 acres of blueberries, this Wilsonville farm has plenty of blueberry bushes to peruse. They provide the bucket, and you can go to town! You can even bring a picnic and find the perfect spot to lunch, laugh, and lounge in the sun once your “chores” are complete.
Oak Mountain Demonstration Farm
John Findlay Dr, Pelham, AL 35124 • (205) 620-2526
Hours: Thursday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Tuesday and Wednesday
Oak Mountain State Park is the largest state park in Alabama, offering a family-friendly opportunity to get up close and personal with various cute creatures at the Oak Mountain Demonstration Farm. Open every day (weather permitting), the farm features chickens, roosters, pigs, peacocks, goats, sheep, cows, donkeys, and even a Shetland pony.
Stone Hollow Farmstead
2006 Dead Hollow Rd N, Harpersville, AL 35078
The fun doesn’t have to end with spring — Stone Hollow Farmstead keeps it going well into summer! Stone Hollow Farmstead is a family business located about 30 minutes east of Birmingham in Shelby County, and you can find a wide variety of items for sale, from cheese and honey to botanicals and cosmetic extracts. The founding family has been welcoming guests for 22 years, and they even host Dahlia Day on June 26 — an event where guests can tour the fields, visit the animals, and learn how to grow dahlias from Stone Hollow Farmstead founder, Deborah Stone. The schedule also includes Art in the Garden, an opportunity to dye fabric and eggs, and you can attend a class about insects (ladybugs, praying mantis, and green lacewings) that includes their release into the raised bed garden. No visit to the Farm is complete without sampling tasty treats and snagging some flowers, so be sure to visit the merchandise tables and tents.
Sugar Hill U-Pick Farms
3358 Co Rd 59, Verbena, AL 36091 • (205) 351-1480
Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sunday
Hours depend on the availability of produce; check the website for updates.
Springtime means it’s time for strawberries at Sugar Hill U-Pick Farms in Verbena. The farm prides itself on offering some of the best strawberries around, and they’ve spent the past 15 years perfecting their techniques! This year, the strawberry patch includes more plants than ever before — 200,000 strawberry plants just waiting to be picked. In addition to strawberries, you can often find other fresh produce such as broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, kale, onions, and collards.
Now, get out there and enjoy all that spring in Birmingham has to offer!
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