IT HAS been used for proposals, baby announcements and even a first date – a sunflower patch near Basingstoke welcomed thousands of visitors when it opened for two weeks this summer.

The Rotherwick Patch launched in 2020, and since then has grown in popularity with thousands of people visiting every year to enjoy the stunning display of sunflowers.

Lynette and Henry Steel, who own the farm in Rotherwick, first began selling their sunflowers during lockdown when they put out an honesty box for people to buy bunches of the beautiful blooms.

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The following year the couple opened as a pick-your-own for sunflowers in the summer and again in the autumn when visitors could pick their own pumpkins. 

Lynette, mum to four-year-old Pippa, said: “The support has been phenomenal. It’s been difficult with the weather this year and the rain has presented its challenges, but we have still had lots of visitors.”

The couple, who run an 800-acre arable farm, chose to donate some of the profits to Cancer Research UK, this year raising more than £500.

Visitors to the sunflowers enjoyed taking photos with the stunning backdrop of sunflowers as well as picking their own bunches to take home.

“It’s something we always talked about,” said Lynette, explaining how the idea came about.

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“In 2020 I was on maternity leave and it was a pet project. The first year we just had an honesty box for the sunflowers and we had only 1,000 pumpkins. This year we had a full pick-your-own event and we have planted 30,000 pumpkins.”

She said the 1.5-acre sunflower patch had been visited by around 3,000 people during the two weeks it was open, with many people choosing to go for a special occasion.

“You just can’t be sad in a field of sunflowers,” said Lynette, adding: “People enjoy coming out and experiencing the sunflowers. It’s not something you can do too often. It’s very different to going to the supermarket and buying a bunch.

“We are just farmers who have a diversification project so I think people enjoy supporting local.

"We see a lot of returning customers. We have had people getting engaged and announcing babies and wedding photos and people bringing their babies back. We even had a couple come on their first date. It’s such a nice experience. People enjoy coming out and being in the fresh air and doing something different.”

The sunflower patch was only able to open for two weeks this year, after which the area is turned over to provide food for birds and bees.

“Nothing is wasted. The birds feed on the seeds in the winter and then we return the snowflowers back to the ground and they create compost for the next year,” explained Lyneette, adding: “It’s a short window for us to enjoy, it’s only a few weeks. We are very much in the hands of mother nature and the sunflowers started to go over and there’s nothing we can do about that. The sunflowers dictate how long it lasts.”

The Rotherwick Patch will open again in October for visitors to pick their own pumpkin.

For more information visit rotherwickpatch.com