A Wisconsin farmer is his doing his part to try and bring some sunshine back into people’s lives after the unbelievably gray year that has been 2020.
As CNN reported, Scott Thompson of Thompson Strawberry Farm planted over 2 million sunflowers in his fields, creating a stunning garden that he’s inviting people to come witness for themselves to help cheer them up.
Scott’s family has been running their pick-your-own farm in Kenosha County for over 70 years, but this is the first time its fields have ever grown sunflowers.
Typically, the farm offers people the chance to pick their own berries in the summer and pumpkins in the winter. But with the way 2020 has been going, Scott knew he and his family could do even more to spread some happiness in their community.
“As the season went on, the pandemic never went anywhere,” he told CNN . “And we thought people might be looking for something to do.”
RELATED STORIES
Ultimately, Scott ended up with over 22 acres of sunflowers, amounting to more than 2 million little bursts of sunshine in his fields.
Thanks to some serious forethought while planting, the flowers feature large paths that allow guests to maintain a safe social distance while admiring their fabulous blooms.
They can take pictures with the flowers, enjoy a picnic amongst them, and even pick a few to take home!
Unsurprisingly, the sunflowers have proven to be a huge hit among visitors to the farm.
“One of the things that’s so cool about this is everyone is so happy,” Scott said. “We get all these comments on Facebook, or if I’m out in the field, everybody is like, ‘Thanks for doing this,’ [and] ‘This is what I needed.’ People are so happy to be out there and have a place to go.”
The response has been so positive that the family has decided to make the sunflowers a regular feature at the farm.
So what is it about sunflowers that have people so eager to come and see them?
According to Scott, it’s all about the experience they can provide people who need some distracting.
“I think it is a very simple activity that you can forget about the pandemic for a little while,” he told Unilad . “When you are in the middle of a field, and all you see around you are bright yellow flowers, you have no choice but to smile.”
