Sunflowers, smiles and selfies: Busselton agritourism idea a huge hit

Standing tall and golden along a South West roadside this summer is a striking crop of sunflowers bringing people joy, and one heck of a backdrop for photos.

Families, friends and keen photographers flocked to the farm inland of Busselton for the chance to wander through the breathtaking crop with blooms as big as dinner plates and stalks taller than most.

It was the brainchild of Busselton locals Beau and Casey McGregor, who teamed up with Kaloorup potato farmers Sam and Daniel Taylor to create The Paddock — an agritourism initiative that exceeded all expectations.

It came together serendipitously.

For the past two years, the McGregors had been looking for a way to make the most of a 2ha block on their property.

“We were just throwing out ideas of what we could grow as a tourist attraction and as a by-product of that, what else you could grow or sell,” Mr McGregor said.

“With sunflowers we can sell the seed, we’ve packaged up the petals as eco-confetti and we’ve got other ideas like whether we mulch down the stalks as mulch for gardens.

“Then when people come and see the sunflowers, we sell the flowers as well, so you’ve got five or six revenue streams from one product.”

It just so happened that three years earlier, the Taylors had planted a sunflower crop on a 60ha property they recently purchased after leasing it for 15 years.

“We were trying to come up with where we wanted to have our wedding and there was sentimental value to both of us on the farm,” Mrs Taylor said.

“But I didn’t want to get married in a blank paddock, so we grew a cover crop of sorghum and then surrounded that with sunflowers and had two big lots of sunflowers we used for all of our florals and decorations for the wedding.

“We took a bit of a punt and had florists on standby in case it all went pear shaped, but about three days before the wedding all of the sunflowers bloomed, so we snagged it pretty well.”

After working together at the local pool back in 2009, Mrs Taylor and Mrs McGregor both ended up in the same mother’s group last year, where the idea to team up and grow it on the McGregors’ farm came to life.

The decision was made in mid-September, and by mid October they had sourced 15kg of seed from Queensland and were ready to sow the 1.6ha crop.

Running out of seed in their third paddock, seed harvested from the Taylor’s wedding blooms was planted, which Mrs Taylor said was “pretty special”.

On January 10, after keeping their plans fairly quiet, The Paddock was opened to the public.

The next five weeks were a whirlwind, with thousands coming from far and wide to wander through the blooms. Over the five weeks, they sold 2000 carpark tickets and their blooms made their way to hundreds of homes through on-farm sales and wholesale bunches sold into Busselton.

“It was pretty crazy,” Mr McGregor said.

“We had an inkling that it could take off, but with something new and totally different there’s always that bit of doubt.

“By the end of day one we knew we were on to something and every day it grew more as people talk to their friends.”

They limited the number of people in the crop with an online booking system for carpark tickets, to ensure anyone who visited had a positive experience and was able to get photos without crowds in the background.

Not only were they open during the day, but during “golden hour”, with many professional photographers booking time for sunset photo shoots amid the blooms.

While a business, Mr McGregor said mental health had also been a focus for them, with the crop providing an escape from people’s stressors, particularly during the pandemic.

“People come back with a big smile on their face and say it’s so uplifting,” he said.

“Whatever’s going on in the background, they can walk away and feel good.”

While it is now closed for the season, with punters invited to bring a bucket and secateurs with them in the final days, they are looking forward to bringing back the blooms in 2023.