The tail end of summer marks sunflower season and as of August 21, 2025 Taves Farms is inviting guests down for the magic of sunflowers, and the last hurrah of summer, as they celebrate their 35th anniversary.
Ticket holders can wander through their whimsical Magical Sunflower Garden, a lush field of greenery, where the face of thousands of sunflowers greet you. Amongst this sea are photo props to take advantage of, for a picturesque backdrop. A bicycle, gazebo, carriage, swinging chair, and miniature bridge.
New to the assembly is their gnome home. A cottage facade with working smoking chimney. The working story is that this is a where their two mascots: Merlin and Marisol sleep at night.
And within this already magical setting you can take part in Taves’ annual butterfly a release. “A magical tradition that celebrates transformation, remembrance and love”, as per their website. Here, guests can release a live butterfly into the breeze and watch as it takes flight in this enchanting garden setting. A both meaningful and memorable experience available weekends from August 21st to September 7th, 2025.
These butterflies act as pollinators for the farm by unintentionally picking up and transferring pollen from one flower to another, while feeding on nectar.
Your visit also includes the ability to pick your own apples from the orchard and cuddle animals at their petting barn.
For those who wish to frequent, you can purchase one of Taves Magical Memberships, now on sale. You pay one price and are gifted unlimited visits to both the Sunflower experience and their Magic of Fall, until October 31st.
For those looking for a one time visit, be warned gate prices are $3 more per ticket in person, so you are advised to plan ahead and purchase your tickets online. Ticket prices vary by date and season, but when you book ahead, you’re guaranteed the best price for a day full of farm fun.
Not normally available at their farm, but as a special treat, we dined amongst their apple trees. This was a long table of sorts with individual tables nestled amongst the branches of apple treats. We sat as couples or in fours, enjoying light conversation and their newest fruit ciders on tap.
The lovely Nanny’s Nicest Apple Cider and Tux’s Treasure Blackberry Vanilla Cider. The former was crisp and sweet, the latter more robust with dark fruit.
There were even vanilla cupcakes topped with edible butterflies to snack on during the reception portion of the evening.
When time, we chose our table and watched the sun go down over the acres.
Dinner was prepared by Maple Ridge’s Sun Flower Cafe and they did a spectacular job. We visited both of their locations recently and adored their farm to table offerings. So we’re delighted to get something similar here today. This was especially impressive considering the location, with only a makeshift kitchen.
Our meal started with their signature freshly baked bread with homemade churned butter, topped with maldon salt. They were generous with the stack of buns, and I greedily took home what I could not finish here today. These were identical to the ones we had at both Sunflower Cafe and the Lodge in Mission.
Our first course was a Panzanella Salad featuring fresh vegetables from the Sunflower Garden. Brandywine and Sungold tomatoes, cucumber, pickled torpedo onions, whipped goat cheese, and focaccia croutons. This was a wonderful taste of the season and a wonderful way to celebrate the bounty of BC. Shame it wasn’t cut to serve. The salad was pre-made for serving convenience, and as a result the water of the vegetables pooled making for a soggier mix. My plate didn’t come with any of the croutons, but my guest was kind enough to share her’s. These were light, airy, and easy to crumble in the mouth. I would have liked a denser crouton to better contrast the softer collection of vegetables. I most of the flavour was derived from the goat cheese.
Roasted Fraser Valley Chicken Breast and Abbotsford corn with jalapeño and house smoked bacon. The chicken was well grilled, I enjoyed the crisp of the skin, but would have liked the chicken juicer. Thankfully, the corn carried the entire dish. It was refreshing and sweet, and I would be happy to have it as a side to any dish.
And for dessert we had a deconstructed Black Forest Cake with dark chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, Okanagan cherries, and whipped cream. It was nice to be able to curate your bite how you like it. For me it was the light chocolate sponge and the juicy and slightly boozy cherries. A nice taste to leave your mouth with.
In short, I have never had a bad time at Taves and with such unique activations they will continue to lead the pack in farms to visit.
Taves Farms
333 Gladwin Rd, Abbotsford, BC V2S 8A7, Canada
+1 604-853-3108
tavesfamilyfarms.com
