What to Know
- Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark
- The farm offers several pick-your-own goodies throughout the calendar, from vegetables to flowers to fruits
- $7 weekday and $10 weekend/holiday admission; sweet peas are 10 cents a stem (prices for the other U-Pick items are listed on the farm's site)
Sweet peas may be small-ish in size — compared to the roses and dahlias and other big-headed blossoms, that is — but they go huge, really huge, in the fancily frilly department.
But even more major than this flower's fancy and frilly character is its fragrance, which just may be the champ among champs when it comes to charming the nose.
We're not saying that roses don't rose, er, rise to the olfactory occasion, but the petite sweet pea packs an outsized aroma, one that can be correctly described as luscious and layered.
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In fact, we'll wager that if springtime wore a signature fragrance, it would heavily lean on the sweet pea, or, just perhaps, the sweet pea would be the only star.
This makes U-Pick season especially tempting for those fans of the flower, but finding regional spots that specialize in the sweet pea can be as challenging as describing its singular scent.
Underwood Family Farms is such a senses-pleasing spot, and, as it tempting tradition in late spring, cultivated sweet pea flowers are peaking.
If you'd like to gather several stunners for your home — the blossoms are 10 cents a stem, and you'll need to pay admission to the farm — best make for the Moorpark location soon.
As you might expect, the popular farm is a bountiful bastion of utter U-Pick-a-tude as June begins, with so many healthy and happy goodies on the list: carrots, beets, and strawberries are among the many munchables, while snapdragons, sweet peas, and Champagne bubble poppy flowers are among the floral contingent.
Because there are a number of draws at the destination — the adorable Animal Center brims with barnyard-y bliss, especially in the late spring — do plan on paying admission to enter. Weekdays are less crowded and the entry drops by a few dollars.
