Meckley’s Opens Sunflower Trail at Local Farm

Lindsay Meckley and Ridge Bollheimer recently opened Sunshine Acres U-Cut Sunflower Trail at Meckley’s Flavor Fruit Farm near Somerset. The swing is one of 25 photo sets on the property.

By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports

(August 17, 2021 8:12 PM) The busy season for Meckley’s Flavor Fruit Farms is in the fall.

Lindsay Meckley and Ridge Bollheimer wanted something for area residents to do during summer months.

It was a surprise visit to a sunflower garden that spurred a new business for the Meckley’s.

Meckley’s opened Sunshine Acres U-Cut Sunflower Trail at the end of July. The Trail included more than a dozen varieties of sunflowers and 25 photographer sets.

“Ridge took me to his neighbor’s garden where they had a couple of rows of sunflowers,” Meckley said. “We both thought there were cool.”

That started the wheels turning. The duo planted a cover crop last year, cut it earlier in 2021, and planted 8.5 acres of sunflowers during the Memorial Day weekend. They planted 14 varieties in 2021, but plan to plant more next spring. 

“It takes 60 to 90 days for the sunflowers to bloom,” Bollheimer said. “It just depends on the variety.”

Sunflowers began to bloom at the end of July. The Sunflower Trail is open Wednesday through Sunday with hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

“What sets us apart from other sunflower fields are more than 25 photo sets on our property,” Meckley said. “We get a lot of photographers taking senior photos, family photos, maternity photos, and we even had a wedding.”

Bollheimer said they plan to harvest the field in mid-September and package the sunflower seeds for bird feed. 

Sunshine Acres will host a festival on Sunday and include food trucks, more than two dozen local vendors, and entertainment by Kelly Bracy.

Costs for the Trail are $11 for adults, $5 for students, and free for children 4 and under. There is also a charge for buckets and pruning shears to cut blooms.

The Sunflower Trail is located 11035 S. Jackson Road, on the south side of Meckley’s property. 

The festival will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 22.

For more information call 517-688-3455 or visit Meckley’s Flavor Fruit Farm on Facebook.