Thistledown Farm — Attraction in Junction City

The farm is lovely, unfortunately I had a negative experience with one of their employees.

I visited Thistledown Farm on Saturday morning along with my husband and our nephew, who is 11 years old. We were looking to get some cut flowers and generally check out the place, as we had never been there before. I brought my small dog along, thinking that it might be alright since I had him in an enclosed backpack carrier and we were going to be out in the field cutting flowers. We walked in and explored the nursery area with no problems. They had some very healthy looking elephant ear plants and their hosta section was impressive. After exploring the nursery, we went back into the market and my husband and nephew went to look at the baked goods while I asked one of the cashiers about the possibility of getting cut flowers. They were very polite and helpful, explaining that this is the beginning of the cut flower season so they only had one variety available. They lent me scissors for cutting and gave me directions to the area, mentioning a footbridge that I should cross. After speaking to the cashier, I went to tell my husband where we needed to go. At this point, I was approached by another employee who appeared to be afab, a bit on the short side, with brown hair. They loudly exclaimed, in a very rude tone, that I was not allowed to have my dog in there. Upon realizing my mistake, I cast about for the nearest exit and started heading towards it. At this point, the employee yelled something like “Noo, you have to go all the way out to the parking lot!” I was frustrated with their rudeness and said “really?” in an exasperated tone, while making my way out to the lot as quickly as I could without disturbing the other customers. Once outside, we decided that I would take my nephew to cut the flowers while my husband stayed in the parking lot with the dog, then we could swap places and he could do the rest of the shopping with our nephew while I stayed in the lot. I was a little disappointed and frazzled at this point, but I was determined that my nephew should have a good time, so I was trying to stay positive. We walked back through the market. I was scanning the horizon, looking for the bridge that was mentioned in the directions I was given. I walked out one of the back doorways with my eyes on the bridge, failing to notice that I had gone the wrong way–into an employees only area. I was just realizing that this wasn’t a way through, when I heard the same rude brunette from before loudly exclaim something like: “you can’t be back here!” Not wanting to expose my nephew to any more hostility, I opted to quickly take his hand, turn around, and walk back through the doorway and away towards another exit. This action, however, was not good enough for this employee who continued to yell after us something like: “There is a sign right there, you walked right by it!” I continued to ignore them and walk away, trying to stay positive for my nephew. We found the correct exit and headed towards the bridge. My nephew had a good time saying high to the goats and playing on a small mock train engine. The hay maze was closed, due to wasps, which I understand is not anyone’s fault and I appreciated the fact that they posted a warning. We found the flowers and cut our bouquets with no further incident. My husband enjoyed doing the purchasing and said that all of the other employees were very polite and pleasant. We bought cider donuts, cookies, raspberry preserves, and pepper jelly. The pepper jelly was my favorite item, I absolutely recommend it! My husband and nephew liked the cider donuts best. They have a delightful sugar crust. Overall, I would recommend visiting. Just don’t bring your dog, pay careful attention to the signage, and avoid the small angry...

I realize they have a no pet policy, but I would think they would make an exception when I have a 5 lb dog in a completely enclosed pet stroller. I did not want to leave her in the car in the 90 degree heat. People with bigger dogs can leave their pets with windows open and be fine. Smaller dogs can easily be taken. I have been to many places with a no pet policy and they are happy to make allowances when the weather is to hot. We ended up leaving and found a great farm stand down the road called Santa Clara Farm Stand. They were very sweet and welcoming to our pet and to us. Thistledown Farm will not be getting my business anymore. Sandy C

I'm not sure I do understand because I frequent Full City Coffee/Palace Bakery in downtown Eugene and they are very welcoming to pets inside their establishment. It also might help if the cashiers that are turning people with pets away would be a little less rude. I know they probably get tired of people trying to bring their pets in out of the heat but they don't need to be rude. As I said my dog was in a completely enclosed pet stroller. I bring her into restaurants and grocery without problems. All of these places serve food. Thank you for responding...

I bounded onto the lot with such enthusiasm, but the nostalgia of going to Thistledown farm evaporated when I saw the desperation of becoming a consignment/novelty store. I think there’s a lot of potential left on the table. If you want another place to buy a $100 rusty bean-shaped “vintage” bench, this is the place for you. If you want a place to make memories with your family, this no longer fits the bill. The experience could be improved if they take the opportunity left by the other farm closure.

There is a horse-drawn ride to the pumpkin patch, but plan to supplement the day with other farms after picking up some apple cider doughnuts. Any other time of the year, expect not a lot of variety of items from their own farm.

This farm has no interest in creating something memorable and fun for the community and that’s fine. Treats to buy, animals to feed, laughs to be had, and stories to share aren’t easy to facilitate. Other items hard to facilitate appear to include being a great stop for produce, plants, and grains or really going after what they already have...