With the public’s growing fascination for the picturesque sunflower fields, Anna Pettigrew and Rob McSkimming took the opportunity to host a much-awaited Sunflower Day on their sprawling farm located in Hallfield.
“The sunflowers have generated a LOT of interest in the district. Before they’d developed their heads, we had farmers stopping us on the road (and coming up to the house) to ask what they were and once they started flowering the traffic (which usually speeds past at least 110km p/hour) grind to a halt and started crawling past! We’ve had all sorts so people stop to take photos – groups of dirt bikes (on their way over the Dunstan Trail), stock truck drivers, milk tank drivers, van loads of people from the local rest home, the list goes on…
The interest was so intense that we decided to open our gates for an ‘Open Afternoon’ where people could wander around the sunflowers and get up close and personal with them as we all know how much more breathtaking they are when you’re amongst them. We welcomed over 100 people and they were all super appreciative of the oil you so kindly donated. We had enough for one p/car so it was great that no-one had to miss out.”
“The following day, we had the entire St John’s Primary School through, it was soooo cute seeing them LOVING the flowers and really engaging with what we had to say about them. They had some great questions too – so clearly they were interested and listening.
Just yesterday we had the Business Studies class from the local Area School and the Horticulture Class too. They were years 12 and 13 and their enthusiasm was next level! They were both looking at the sunflowers through different lenses of course and that in itself was great as I was able to talk about the numbers and the potential to diversify further (sunflower tourism) with the business students. And the how, why, when, etc with the Horticulture class.
The joy the Sunflowers have brought to the region is something we never anticipated. It sure is fabulous for work satisfaction so if all goes well, and we get a decent return we’d like to continue growing them.”
– Anna Pettigrew, Hallfield Farm Ltd
Listen to Rob & Anna’s recent chat with The Whole Story about sunflowers growing in Upper Taieri.
