ROWS OF TULIPS curve across a hillside at Brand Farms in Dakota County, splashing color into the agrarian landscape. Vivid red and bright yellow. Softer pinks. Multi-hued flowers of orange and yellow, purple and white. And more.
The colorful tulips contrast with the dark soil of a bare field and the sometimes cloudy sky in a land awakening to spring.
Here, along a dusty gravel road northeast of Farmington, the Brands welcome visitors to their first annual Tulip Festival, featuring 36 tulip varieties—160,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands—planted on three acres of this fourth-generation family farm.
Days after the tulip fest opened, Randy and I met our eldest daughter at the farm, climbed onto a tractor-drawn wagon, settled onto straw bales and bumped our way out to the tulip field, the driver narrating information about the farm along the way.
This is a working crop, dairy and chicken farm, also with an apple orchard, a farm market, community supported agriculture (CSA) and side crops of flowers, sunflowers and pumpkins. The Brands have diversified into agri-tourism with events like tulip and sunflower festivals, apple and pumpkin picking. We’ve been here previously in autumn with the two oldest grandkids and their parents.
On this weekday afternoon, mostly adults wandered the tulip field. A strong wind whipped across the rolling hills as we meandered, photographed—there are lots of fun photo props—took in the breathtaking beauty of blooms. Some 40 percent of the tulips had not yet opened. Weather always factors in to farming.
Even for kids who may not be all that interested in looking at tulips, this festival offers plenty of activities like a mountain of straw bales to scale; plastic farm animals to hop on; a giant pad to bounce upon; basketballs to sink; a bin of shelled corn to play in; and more.
There’s a farm food truck, too, vending walking tacos, beverages, ice cream treats and such. From 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9, Prairie Potluck brings live music to the Tulip Festival. Weekends can get especially busy here with families.
Festival aside, as someone who grew up on a southwestern Minnesota dairy and crop farm, I appreciate the opportunity to reconnect with my rural roots here. It’s not often anymore that I set foot upon a working farm. And when I do, I realize how much agriculture still means to me decades removed from rural life.
While at Brand Farms, I longed to pet the calves, but had to settle for taking photos of the Holsteins. I realize the Brands can’t have people poking around everywhere. They offer just enough exposure to farm life to inform and educate with scheduled educational tours as another option.
Once we returned from the tulip field to the farm site and I photographed the cows and calves, we walked through the farm store before heading to the U-pick tulip patch. Planted at the bottom of a hill and semi-sheltered from the wind, the tulips bloomed more color into Brand Farms.
It’d been a delightful 1½ hours on this family farm, originally purchased in 1957 by German immigrants, Anton and Marie Brand. Today their great grandson, Aaron/”Farmer Aaron” farms here with his father. For a farm to remain in the family for four generations is worth celebrating, just as tulips are on a cool and windy afternoon in early May.
FYI: The Tulip Festival is open daily from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. until around May 24. Check before heading to the farm as weather could impact the end date. There is an admission price. The farm is located at 18605 Biscayne Avenue, rural Farmington. The Brand Barn store is open daily from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. selling farm-fresh eggs, meats, apples and more.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Courageous crocuses April 9, 2026
Tags: blossoms, cold, commentary, crocus, crocuses, flowers, Minnesota, nature, seasons, spring, spring flowers, winter
EACH SPRING THEY EMERGE, poking through a layer of dried leaves mulching my front flowerbed.
When I spot the tender green shoots of crocuses, I feel a surge of optimism that winter is winding down. However, as a life-long Minnesotan, I also tamp my excitement. Snow falls in April here and sometimes in May. And these crocuses were bursting already in late March.
Days after I removed the leaves, exposing the crocuses to sunshine and air, they grew quickly. Soon purple blossoms spread wide, revealing golden centers like spots of sunshine.
I delight in the shades of purple, notice the lines tracing the petals, the way the flowers hug the ground as if also tentative about the season.
This first flower of spring seems to me courageous. Braving the cold of Minnesota, determined to reach the sunshine, to make a strong statement of hope that the cold and dark of winter will give way to warmth and light.
TELL ME: I’d like to hear your first flower of spring story.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling