'I just wanted to pretty up the area': Allegany County couple offer u-pick flower blooms

Summertime in the Southern Tier brings numerous opportunities to pick your own fruits and vegetables at local farms.

An Allegany County couple is putting a twist on the concept by operating a u-pick flower farm.

Steve and Debra Bentley created 4 B’s Farm, planting an acre of brilliant blooms on their County Road 4 property at the Fillmore-Granger town line. This is the second year for the u-pick garden which offers dozens of varieties of flowers in every color imaginable.

“Snapdragons, like six different types, rudbeckia, cosmos, just about anything you can grow as a cut flower,” Steve Bentley explained as he harvested small sunflowers on a Sunday morning.

Bentley said he did not start the garden to sell flowers initially.

“I just wanted to pretty up the area. Allegany County doesn’t really have anything like this.”

The spacious flowerbeds and meticulously groomed pathways attract visitors taking family photos and selfies. There is no charge for walking among the blossoms. The space is tranquil with just the sounds of birds chirping and bees buzzing.

The farm’s name stands for “Bentley’s blooms, berries and bees.” The Bentleys also grow and sell blackberries and raspberries. Steve’s full-time occupation is commercial beekeeping. He moves his hives between New York and Florida where the bees pollinate citrus crops in the winter. The flower farm is a logical extension of beekeeping.

“It gives my bees something to work. I think everybody should plant flowers for the bees. There’s too much natural forage being taken away,” Bentley said.

Wintering in Florida gives Bentley time to start the flowers from seed. He has nursery permits so that he can transport the young plants to New York in May. A neighbor, Houghton University student Clancy Cockle, sows the majority of them. Succession planting means that there are always fresh blossoms of every type of flower.

Bentley experiments with a variety of plants, with mixed results. Honeywort was a disappointment this year.

“It’s a beautiful plant, but it’s a flop. Literally, a flop. When I cut it, it just wilts over. I cannot get it to stand up. It’s trial and error, plain and simple.”

Other flowers are compensating for that flop. From showstopper snapdragons to Dr. Seuss-like globe thistles to crested celosias shaped like a human brain, there are flowers to add interest and dimension to every bouquet.

Bentley does not know how long the garden will be open this year.

"It all depends on the weather – if we get an early frost," he said. "Last year, I just ran out of flowers."

What to know if you go to 4 B's

4 B’s is open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk. On Sundays, the farm has a “flower bar” offering bouquets and pre-cut flowers. 4 B’s provides cutting tools, gallon water jugs and plastic bags for those using the u-pick option.

Flowers are 50 cents per stem. Gladioluses and large sunflowers are $1 each.

To stay up to date on any changes to the pricing or schedule, visit the 4 B's Facebook page .

This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: 'I just wanted to pretty up the area': Allegany County couple offer u-pick flower blooms