If you live in Oregon or have ever planned a trip to our gorgeous state, you’ve probably heard of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, home of the most famous flower festival near Portland. But I’m guessing you’ve never heard of another stunning botanical wonder, Adelman Gardens. This peony farm in Oregon lets you walk through the fields of outrageously beautiful blooms. It’s your our own personal floral wonderland!

And because it’s so off the beaten path, you might find you have this peony farm in Oregon all to yourselves. My girls and I recently went to Adelman Peony Gardens and saw a grand total of three other people in the peony fields over the hour we were there.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Family Travel Expert Catherine (@toandfrofam)

So if you’re looking for where to see flowers near Portland, or hidden gems in Oregon, you’ll want to beat a path directly to Adelman. If you love flowers, this is an experience you won’t soon forget.

The prettiest peony farm in Oregon

On 25 acres in Brooks, just north of Salem, Oregon, this family-run peony garden cultivates flowers in a display garden and in fields of color-blocked rows. You can buy potted peonies, cut peonies (like we did) or order bare root peonies for delivery in the fall.

Adelman Peony Gardens has won the “best of show” recognition in the American Peony Society’s flower show nearly every year since 2003. I don’t know enough about flowers to judge if the blooms in this peony farm in Oregon has the best, but the peonies were simply stunning.

We got to see such a wide variety from this Oregon peony grower. Some were nearly four feet tall; other blooms were as big as dinner plates. Some smelled delicately sweet, and others looked as unruly as my girls’ messy morning hair.

A personal connection to peonies

Not long ago, I found about Adelman Peony Gardens from my friend Becca, who has also done our family photos the last two years. (You can find Becca’s amazing Portland family photography here. You can even arrange to have your family photos taken among the peonies!) As soon as I learned about it, I know I just had to take my daughters.

You see, my great-grandmother, whom we called Pretty Grandma, loved peonies. She adored all flowers but peonies were a special favorite. She and I were close until she died at 106 years old, and she and I kept up a pen pal relationship almost until the very end. She would scrawl in her compact cursive about what she saw blooming out her window of the nursing home where she lived.

When she died, my mom dug up some of the peonies she had planted in her own home. She drove them cross-country, from Peoria, Illinois to Eugene, Oregon, in the white ’66 Mustang Pretty Grandma left to her. Those peonies are still growing in the yard of my childhood home, as far as I know.

Last year my dad planted new peonies in the yard of my home—and they bloomed this past Friday. They’d been in expectant buds for what seemed like forever. Then suddenly, their exuberance opened—and I fell even deeper in love with these flowers.

My older daughter is named after Pretty Grandma—Edith. They share a name, and now they share a love of peonies.

I wish my great-grandma could have met these goofballs.

Where to see peonies in Oregon

Adelman Peony Gardens are a 40-minute drive from Downtown Portland—an easy trip, especially if you avoid rush hour!

When you arrive, pass the first parking area and drive a bit farther back. There are more spaces next to the farm store, and you’ll be closer to both the display garden and the real star of the show: the peony fields.

Walk around the sweetly landscaped display gardens, where you’ll find labeled varieties of peonies as well as other flowers and plants. A waterfall bubbles at the middle, and you can take a seat on a handful of benches throughout the garden to pause and admire the view.

To get to the peony fields, pass the potted plants for sale and follow the red arrows to the peony fields. You’ll walk down a grass path flanked by fields of wheat (a great place for an out-of-the-ordinary photo!). The paths are even and flat, but if you have mobility issues, you may encounter challenges. We saw another mom push a stroller on these paths without any problems.

Walk through a maze of peonies

The fields are really what makes this peony farm in Oregon so special. You can walk through rows upon rows of these amazing blooms.

My girls couldn’t contain themselves: In a flash, they were off exploring all the different flowers. They crawled through tunnels of plants, the flowers making a roof of blooms. They ducked down, hidden, then popped up to surprise each other. And they seemed utterly immersed in the moment.

Some rows of peonies grew taller than Maxine’s head. She was wearing a pink cap, too, so she was even more camouflaged! At one point I think she got turned around and didn’t know which way to get out. She had to follow my voice to the end of the row—and asked to be carried for a while.

You’ll of course want to be extra-careful around the flowers so you don’t snap the stalks or spoil the blooms. That said, feel free to explore. And don’t forget to take photos!

Peonies season in Oregon: When to see peonies

As with all agricultural crops, the peonies season in Oregon depends on winter and especially spring weather. If we get late frosts and snow, peonies will bloom later.

That said, Adelman Peony Gardens open daily from 9 am to 6 pm, late April through mid-June. Peak peony season tends to be in late May.

Adelman Peony Gardens grows roughly 500 varieties of these flowers, making them one of the foremost Oregon peony growers. That also means that some varieties are early- or late-blooming, so there’s something to see pretty much whenever you come. You’ll notice that some rows in the field may be spent, some may be in full bloom and others in bud.

Logistics to visit this peony farm in Oregon

Visiting Adelman Peony Gardens is absolutely free, beyond the gas you’ll spend to get there. On wet days and after a spell of rain, the fields will be muddy so wear boots. In nice weather, the peony garden can get quite hot because there is no shade beyond the display garden, so wear sunscreen and bring water.

The peony farm sells cut peonies commercially—you might catch a glimpse of the wholesale operation in one of the hangars. Adelman also makes cut flowers available to the public. You can choose individual stems from about 8 varieties; they cost $2 per stem.

I recommend that you buy either cut peonies, potted plants or something else from the gift shop, since the gardens don’t charge admission. The gift shop sells garden art, greeting cards and a few other items. (My girls were enthralled by the wind chimes!)

And the people working in this peony farm in Oregon were so sweet. They gave Max and Edie each their very own peony for free! My kids felt so special.

So if you’re in Portland or elsewhere near the Willamette Valley during the spring, make sure to stop by Adelman Peony Gardens near Salem. An hour-long stop is enough time to walk out to the peony fields and immerse yourself in these gorgeous flowers.

If you’re looking for other ways to see some of the Willamette Valley’s flowers, take a look at my post on the flower festivals near Portland. They won’t disappoint!