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The Best Fruit and Flower Picking Near Melbourne
Embrace the beauty of the season by visiting these delightful spots for flower and fruit picking near Melbourne.
Strawberries warm from the sun in Main Ridge, armfuls of peonies in Kerrie, cherries straight from the tree in Wandin East: the best fruit and flower picking near Melbourne is reason enough to leave the city for the day. Fill a basket at CherryHill Orchards, work through figs, nectarines and hundreds of fruit varieties at Rayner’s Orchard, or head to Harvest Homestead in Upwey when the dahlias are ready for cutting. Rocky Creek handles the strawberry craving; Romswood Peony Farm turns November into a very beautiful bucket-filling exercise.
These are the pick-your-own farms worth timing your weekend around.
In This Guide
- When Is Fruit and Flower Picking Season Near Melbourne?
- Best Fruit Picking in Melbourne’s North-East Suburbs
- Best Fruit Picking in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges
- Best Strawberry Picking on the Mornington Peninsula
- Best Fruit Picking West of Melbourne
- Best Flower Picking in the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley
- Best Flower Picking in the Macedon Ranges and Daylesford Region
- Fruit and Flower Farms Worth a Weekend Trip From Melbourne
- FAQs
When Is Fruit and Flower Picking Season Near Melbourne?
The best overlap for fruit and flower picking near Melbourne is November to February. Cherries, strawberries, berries and stone fruit are all in season through summer, while pick-your-own flower farms move from late-spring peonies into dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias and cosmos. Flower picking can begin from mid-September and continue into early April, while apples and pears extend the fruit season into May. Exact harvest dates shift with weather, so check each farm before visiting.
Best Farm Shops & Fruit Picking in Melbourne’s North-East Suburbs
Gather & Bloom Twilight Pick, Flowerdale
Golden hour, armfuls of flowers and a glass of Prosecco on arrival. Bloom Into You turns Saturday evenings into something far prettier with its seasonal Gather & Bloom Twilight Pick, held on a regenerative flower farm around 80 minutes from Melbourne. From January through April, guests wander rows of dahlias, cosmos, zinnias and other summer blooms, snips in hand, filling a florist bucket to take home as the light drops across the valley.
The whole thing is kept intentionally small, so it feels more like somebody let you loose in their flower field at sunset than a ticketed event. Bring a picnic, settle into the rows afterwards or add a grazing box if you want to make an evening of it. And if driving home feels deeply unappealing, the farm’s Villa Minto sits above the fields and includes complimentary Twilight Pick access for Saturday guests during the season.
Sitchu Tip: Book the twilight session. The flowers are lovely at any hour, but the last light across the valley is the whole point.
Warrandyte Berry Farm, Warrandyte South
Warrandyte Berry Farm has been sweetening drives through Warrandyte South for more than 40 years. What began as strawberries sold from the back of an old truck in the 1970s is now a much-loved roadside farm shop, still run by the same family. Fresh berries are the headline, backed by homemade ice cream, smoothies, preserves, strawberry sauce and hot jam doughnuts that deserve their own detour. Stock changes with the harvest, so check ahead in season, then arrive hungry and leave with several punnets more than planned.
449–451 Ringwood-Warrandyte Road, Warrandyte South
Petty’s Orchard, Templestowe
One of Melbourne’s oldest surviving commercial orchards, Petty’s Orchard has been growing fruit beside the Yarra since the early 1900s. Today, Yarra Organics runs 25 hectares as a certified-organic orchard, while the Heritage Fruits Society cares for an extraordinary collection of old and rare varieties, including more than 250 apples and 100-plus plums. Seasonal tastings, heritage-orchard tours and winter grafting days reveal just how much fruit history is preserved here. Stop at the organic shop and cafe, then follow the wetlands towards the bird hide.
1 Homestead Road, Templestowe
Apteds Orchards, Arthurs Creek
Apteds is where this guide starts to feel like orchard country. The family has been growing fruit here since 1912, and more than a century later the Arthurs Creek property still moves with the seasons: blossom in spring, cherries arriving from November, then apples and pears ready for pick-your-own from February into May. In 2026 the orchard has pushed further into visitor experiences too, with spring discovery trails, picnic spaces, orchard games and a Halloween pumpkin patch, while the roadside hut keeps locals stocked with apples, pears, honey, sparkling juice and Kinglake potatoes.
The most exciting addition is coming this summer: Apteds is preparing for its first pick-your-own cherry season, scheduled to begin from November.
864 Cottles Bridge-Strathewen Road, Arthurs Creek
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Best Fruit Picking in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges
Rayner’s Orchard, Woori Yallock
With more than 450 fruit varieties growing across the farm, Rayner’s Orchard is one of Melbourne’s most generous pick-your-own days out. Guided tractor tours run year-round, stopping to taste up to eight ripe fruits straight from the trees, from peaches and plums to tamarillos, feijoas and pepinos. You can also pick fruit to take home, meet the farm animals and crack fresh macadamias along the way. Finish at the Peach Café for orchard-grown desserts, house-made preserves and fruit ice cream before the drive home.
60 Schoolhouse Road, Woori Yallock
CherryHill Orchards, Wandin East
The original CherryHill Orchards in Wandin East has been growing cherries since 1940, and every late November the 80-acre property opens for pick-your-own season. Sessions are all-you-can-eat, so the real challenge is deciding what makes it into the take-home box. Pack a picnic for the lawns afterwards, then stop by the farm gate for cherry ice cream, drinks and fresh fruit. Tickets sell quickly on weekends and public holidays, so book ahead when dates are released. Cherry season generally runs through to early January.
474 Queens Road, Wandin East
Blue Hills Berries & Cherries, Silvan
Blue Hills has been growing fruit in Silvan since 1894, and that depth shows. Across three nearby farms, the Chapman family runs one of the Yarra Valley’s most generous U-Pick operations, with cherry orchards opening in season and strawberries, blueberries, boysenberries and sour cherries appearing through the warmer months. Cherry entry includes all-you-can-eat fruit while you pick, while the Parker Road strawberry crop grows beneath a rain-proof canopy, a small mercy when Melbourne’s weather turns.
Before the fruit arrives, spring brings its own spectacle: the farm’s short Cherry Blossom Show sends the orchards into clouds of white and pink. It is a sweet-as-pie outing, with enough variety to justify coming back more than once.
Silvan, Yarra Valley
Fielderberry Farm, Cockatoo
Set in the Eastern Dandenong Ranges, Fielderberry Farm turns summer berry picking into an easy half-day outing. Raspberries begin ripening from late November, followed by thornless blackberries and blueberries from late December, with picking continuing into February and March depending on the variety. Between rows, visitors can feed the resident alpacas, stop for homemade berry ice cream and waffles, or settle in for a picnic. Want to stretch it out? Lottie’s Bed & Breakfast sits on the working farm, with the Eastern Dandenong Ranges Trail running alongside the property.
11 Fielder Road, Cockatoo
Best Strawberry Picking on the Mornington Peninsula
Rocky Creek Strawberry Farm, Main Ridge
Rocky Creek understands that half the pleasure of strawberry picking is eating your way through the evidence afterwards. The Gallace family has been growing berries on the Mornington Peninsula for decades, and the Main Ridge farm now stretches across 10 fields and more than 300,000 plants, with sweet Albion strawberries grown especially for U-Pick. Grab a punnet, follow the ripest rows and accept that very few berries are making it home untouched. Back at the cafe, things get considerably more indulgent: Belgian waffles, warm scones with farm-made jam, chocolate-dipped strawberries and towering sundaes drenched in berry sauce. Later in the season, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries join the mix. Strawberry picking generally runs from late October through April, depending on the weather.
244 Shands Road, Main Ridge
Best Fruit Picking West of Melbourne
Naturipe Fruit Farm, Bacchus Marsh and Ballarat
Naturipe Fruit Farm spreads the picking across three properties, so timing matters. The main Bacchus Marsh farm handles cherries, peaches, nectarines and apples; a second Bacchus Marsh site is dedicated to strawberries and persimmons; and the Ballarat farm focuses on cherries. Peak season lands in November and December, though strawberries can run from October to May and apples continue into autumn. Pick what you want to take home, then pay by weight. Check the daily picking update before leaving, as ripe fruit and opening hours can change quickly.
638 Bacchus Marsh Road, Bacchus Marsh
534 Bacchus Marsh Road, Bacchus Marsh
44 Forbes Road, Leigh Creek, Ballarat
Best Flower Picking in the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley
Harvest Homestead, Upwey
At the base of the Dandenong Ranges, Harvest Homestead opens its three-acre micro flower farm for book-ahead picking sessions through summer and autumn. More than 3,000 dahlia and chrysanthemum plants fill the beds, alongside trial varieties and a foliage garden for finishing your arrangement. Choose a glass vase or nine-litre bucket, borrow the farm’s snips and spend 90 minutes cutting your own stems. Between rows, visit the Babydoll sheep, wander the permaculture orchard or follow Ferny Creek through the property. Advance bookings are essential.
229 Glenfern Road, Upwey
Gather Flower Farm, Silvan
Set across 7.5 acres of red Yarra Valley soil, Gather Flower Farm grows seasonal flowers without herbicides or pesticides, with regenerative farming practices shaping everything from the soil to the final stem. Pick-your-own sessions run through February and March, when dahlias, roses, cosmos, zinnias, statice and other annuals are at their best. Small-group sessions include a farm tour, snips and your chosen vessel, with guidance on harvesting and keeping flowers fresh once home. The farm is family-friendly, with horses, beehives and orchard rows completing the scene.
Silvan, Yarra Valley
Best Flower Picking in the Macedon Ranges and Daylesford Region
Fleurs de Lyonville, Lyonville
Set on 1.5 acres beside Wombat State Forest, Fleurs de Lyonville grows more than 50 flower varieties using no-dig, chemical-free methods. From November to April, Janae and Chris open the farm for small-group tours through the growing beds, sharing how the operation works from soil to stem. The two-hour visit finishes in the flower shed, where a selection of freshly cut blooms is waiting for you to arrange into your own bee-friendly bouquet, followed by homemade afternoon tea. Tours run on the first Sunday of each month and book out quickly.
Sitchu Tip: The current tour is $95 per person, runs at 1pm, and includes the bouquet plus afternoon tea.
35 Leishman’s Lane, Lyonville
Romswood Peony Farm, Kerrie
Romance blooms easily at Romswood Peony Farm — a family-run haven where rolling fields of peonies steal the show each spring. Since 2013, this idyllic spot has drawn flower lovers from across Victoria to wander its dreamy rows and fill buckets with blushing blooms. From November, guests can join the much-loved ‘Pick Your Own Peony’ sessions or simply stroll the farm, soaking up the quiet beauty of the Macedon Ranges in full bloom.
155 Cherokee Road, Kerrie
Fruit and Flower Farms Worth a Weekend Trip From Melbourne
Black Barn Farm, Stanley
Ten minutes from Beechworth, Black Barn Farm is a family-run regenerative orchard and berry grove where the harvest changes constantly. From late December to April, pick raspberries, thornless blackberries, brambleberries, blueberries and currants straight from the rows; from February, apples and pears take over, including heritage varieties such as Cox’s Orange Pippin, Mutsu and Ashmead’s Kernel. The farm gate adds jams, honey, sorbet and hot apple-cider doughnuts, while seasonal workshops, farm rambles and long-table suppers dig deeper into orcharding, food growing and life on the land.
60 Lower Nine Mile Road, Stanley
Meadowbrooke Flower Farm, Koroit
In Koroit, Meadowbrooke Flower Farm turns seasonal picking into a hands-on morning among the rows. Owner Brooke Stewart runs limited pick-your-own sessions and workshops where guests harvest fresh blooms, let them hydrate over tea, then learn how to shape them into a hand-tied bouquet to take home. Spring events bring tulips and early-season flowers into focus, while later workshops follow whatever is flowering across the farm. Numbers are kept small, so bookings are essential when new dates are released.
Sitchu Tip: The farm’s current Spring Pick & Sip format includes pick-your-own flowers, morning tea, T2 teas and a guided spiral-bouquet workshop.
283 Penshurst–Warrnambool Road, Koroit
Otway Flower Farm, Kawarren
Deep in the Otways, Otway Flower Farm is a working 40-acre flower farm growing seasonal, bee-friendly stems from spring through autumn. Ranunculus lead the season, followed by old-world roses, dahlias and other field-grown flowers, with the farm also producing dahlia tubers, seeds and flower buckets for keen growers and flower lovers.
Sitchu Tip: Public access is limited rather than drop-in, so check directly with the farm for any upcoming open days, tours or collection opportunities before making the drive.
380 Kawarren East Road, Kawarren
Frequently Asked Questions About Fruit and Flower Picking Near Melbourne
Fruit picking season in Victoria runs broadly from November to May, with late November through January the best time for pick-your-own orchard visits. Cherries are typically ready from November to January, while strawberries, berries and stone fruit peak through summer. Apples and pears follow from January into autumn, with picking continuing into May. Harvest dates vary between regions and seasons, so check individual farms before visiting, especially for short cherry and berry windows.
Some of the best strawberry-picking farms near Melbourne sit within an hour or so of the CBD. Rocky Creek Strawberry Farm in Main Ridge is a Mornington Peninsula favourite, while Blue Hills Berries & Cherries in Silvan offers pick-your-own berries near the Dandenong Ranges. Naturipe Fruits in Bacchus Marsh is another easy option west of Melbourne. Strawberry picking generally runs from November to February, but availability changes with weather and ripening, so check farm updates before visiting.
Flower picking in Victoria runs broadly from spring through autumn, with different blooms peaking at different times. Ranunculus and tulips appear from August to October, peonies peak in November, lavender through December and January, and dahlias and sunflowers from January to April. February and March are especially good for pick-your-own flower farms near Melbourne, when dahlias are at their fullest. Exact dates vary with weather, so always check individual farms before visiting.
For families, CherryHill Orchards in Wandin East is one of the easiest fruit-picking days near Melbourne. Its cherry season runs from November to early January, with wide orchard rows, picnic lawns, an on-site cafe and a dedicated kids’ play area. For a broader, year-round option, Rayner’s Orchard in Woori Yallock runs guided tractor tours with fruit tasting, farm animals and more than 450 fruit varieties. Both sit around an hour from Melbourne and are well set up for children.
Fruit picking near Melbourne typically costs around $10–$30 per person, depending on the farm, fruit and experience. At Rocky Creek Strawberry Farm, strawberry picking currently costs $12 per adult and includes a 500g punnet, while mixed-berry picking starts at $20. Other orchards charge entry or tour fees, then price take-home fruit by weight; Rayner’s Orchard currently charges $7 per kilogram. Prices change seasonally, so check individual farms before visiting.
It depends on the farm. Some fruit farms near Melbourne, including Rocky Creek Strawberry Farm, accept walk-ins during picking season, while many flower farms operate through limited, pre-booked sessions. Cherry, berry and flower availability can also change quickly with weather and ripening. The safest approach is to check the farm’s website or social channels before leaving, and book ahead for weekends, school holidays and ticketed flower-picking experiences.
Fruit and flower picking near Melbourne is at its best from late spring into autumn, so plan your farm visits around what’s in season. Make a full day of it with our guide to the best things to do in the Yarra Valley, or keep the botanical theme going with the best gardens in Melbourne and Victoria.
