Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, a farm 30 miles south of Portland, kicks off its second annual Summer Flowers event on Thursday. (Courtesy Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm)

If you missed the iconic tulip fields at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm this spring, there’s another chance to view acres upon acres of colorful blooms.

Thursday marks the beginning of a new month-long Summer Flowers event at the Iverson family farm in Woodburn, located 30 miles south of Portland.

“We’ve really tried a lot of different options of what we can add to our farm so that we’re not just open in the spring,” said Emily Iverson, farm manager at the family business, Iverson Family Farms, Inc. “If there’s one thing we found that we’re good at, it’s growing flowers. That’s kind of what we’re known for.”

The Iverson family quietly introduced the event last year after planting 7 acres of sunflowers and 3 acres of zinnia, Bachelor’s button, calendula, cosmos and other flowering annuals. The event was successful, so they are bringing it back on a larger scale, with 20 acres of sunflower fields and 10 acres of annuals.

Unlike the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, the Summer Flowers event is not a festival. The farm’s cafe and retail shops will be open, but there won’t be all the same festivities as the spring festival, Iverson said.

However, there will still be special events held, which involve strolling through the fields with a glass of wine in hand, taking a morning yoga class in the fields or learning the fundamentals of beekeeping.

Bring flowers home

Tulips grow from a single stem from a bulb and don’t grow back once cut. Annual flowers, however, tend to flourish. The Iversons and their staff have pinched back the flowers in preparation for visitors this week, a type of pruning that encourages fuller growth and more blooms.

Visitors may also pitch in, with the purchase of a u-pick jar ($20) or u-pick bucket ($30), which they may fill with as many flowers as they can fit and bring home with them, Iverson said.

“As people cut them, they just keep coming back better than what they look like before, so we expect to have really solid color all the way through the end of the season,” she said.

Peak bloom time

Iverson said that there will be flowers blooming during the entirety of the event, but the peak overlap of color is likely to happen during mid-August, specifically falling on the weekends of Aug. 9-10 and 16-17.

Check the bloom status report on the farm’s website for a report on the latest field conditions, or visit its social media pages on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok.

It’s recommended to come prepared for the weather with a hat and sun-protective layers and comfortable shoes for walking on uneven surfaces and pathways. Dogs are welcome to explore the fields, if leashed and not left unattended, according to the website.

Visit woodenshoe.com for more details about the Summer Flowers event and to purchase tickets, which are only available online and vary by price, based on time and date.

If You Go

What: Summer Flowers event

When: Thursday-Aug. 24

Where: Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, 33814 S. Meridian Road, Woodburn

Cost: Varies based on time and date

Contact: woodenshoe.com