Melanie Plies smells a zinnia flower at Waterleaf Farm in Ashland. 

Northeast of Ashland lies a floral oasis of dahlias, sunflowers and more at Waterleaf Farm.

Tucked between Interstate 5 and Bear Creek, the farm offers visitors the chance to unplug from the hustle and bustle of daily life and get immersed in the flowers.

The farm has been offering U-pick flowers for five years, allowing guests to walk around and collect the abundant blooms throughout the 20-acre property’s garden.

“I really love to offer this unique U-pick flowers experience, because there’s 15 to 20 different types of flowers, and this farm is such a beautiful place,” said Melanie Plies, founder and owner of Waterleaf Farm. “This is the first year doing the self-serve honor system, and that’s because it opens it up for people for a lot more hours.”

With the honor system in place, the farm is open from dawn to dusk this year for visitors, and the price for taking home picked flowers is dependent upon volume. There isn’t a set date for when U-Pick ends, but the program is set to continue through September until the first fall frost, Plies said.

There are detailed instructions at the farm and supplies to pick flowers, according to the farm’s website. Clippers are available for harvesting. People are asked to bring their own buckets or vases, although buckets, vases or jars are available for purchase. The flowers are priced by volume, and pictures at the farm offer examples. The farm accepts cash, Venmo and PayPal.

While the farm offers 15 to 20 different flower species — with five to 10 different varieties of each species — Plies has found dahlias to be the most popular pick. The pretty plant is prized for its wide variety of colors and ball-like or dinner plate shapes, originating from the mountain regions of Mexico and Guatemala.

“This gets picked a lot. There’s a thing with the dahlias that people have, and then sunflowers might be next,” Plies said of the most popular choices. “I do find that it’s really diverse though — people like to have a little bit of everything.”

Beyond the joy of picking one’s own bouquet, the farm offers a serene sanctuary for folks to slow down and literally smell the flowers to break up the monotony of daily life.

“Being with any plant can be healing and uplifting,” Plies said. “It’s such a diverse place, and for years it’s had community come here, so it just feels like a place that likes to welcome people.”

While the farm sees plenty of people dropping by to pick flowers and enjoy the charming landscape, hot weather and smoky air from wildfires in the region can obstruct turnout.

“When the smoke’s really heavy, and when it gets to 100 degrees … the smoke definitely affects the U-pick,” Plies said.

Sometimes being in the flower garden helps to cope with the smoke.

“It’s really actually uplifting to be in the flowers in the smoke. They’re like pops of color,” she said.

Waterleaf Farm offers more than flower picking, with workshops and experiences in the garden, plant meditation sessions, flower crown parties and more. The property also is available as a wedding venue and photo-shoot site.

During the winter and fall, Plies offers dried flower crown- and wreath-making sessions, she said.

Plies’ love for flowers and farming came from a childhood of helping her mom with flower arrangements and making daisy necklaces with friends in the Pacific Northwest. After years of work in fresh food access in underserved areas of Los Angeles and traveling across Central America and Asia studying culture and agro-ecology, Plies started an organic vegetable farm in Portland in 2007. Eventually, the call of the flowers brought her to the Rogue Valley in the 2010s with Waterleaf Farm.

“I really just love to be connected to the land and wanted to have a life where I felt that integration, where you’re connected to the food you eat and where it comes from,” Plies said. “There’s been so much personal healing for me from the plants.”

The Waterleaf Farm owner is a big believer in farm-to-table efforts and supporting local farmers in the Rogue Valley.

“Supporting our local sustainable agriculture system, it keeps the money circulating in the valley, but also small-scale. There’s a security we can develop as a community by buying from local farmers, whether it’s your food or flowers,” she said.

To learn more about Waterleaf Farm and it’s U-pick flowers, see waterleaffarm.com or call 503-916-9576.