Dry summer leaves pick-your-own sunflowers stunted

A farmer in Derbyshire has said it has been "a really tricky year" for her pick-your-own sunflowers with the lack of rainfall stunting their growth.

Laura Curry, from Bloom and Gourd Farm, between Willington and Hilton, has been growing sunflowers for the past four years so that customers can come and pick their own flowers.

In the past, she said they had grown to more than six feet tall (183cm), but due to the very dry summer, the majority had only grown to about 18 inches (46cm).

Derbyshire officially moved to drought status earlier in the month and saw the driest July since records began.

Curry, who planted her sunflowers in May, said: "There's hardly been any rain since they've been planted so they are a lot smaller this year.

"There are patches where there's no sunflowers and you can hear the crunch of the weeds on the floor because it's so dry.

"But, sunflowers being sunflowers, they are still beautiful to look at."

The farm has no facilities to manually water the sunflowers, and Curry said it was "just potluck that they have managed to bloom out".

"There are still some that are not quite in bloom so we're hoping a little bit of rain might perk them up.

"I think they've done well to grow as they have done in these conditions," she added.

Curry said the short stems have still had a positive reaction from visitors.

When looking back on previous years, she said: "It always makes me chuckle when people pick the massive sunflowers because I think, well how big is your vase at home?

"So actually, these are perfect for small children, they are perfect for your vases, it's still really nice to have a walk around."

When looking ahead to next year, and planting the sunflowers again in 2027, Curry said the farm would be trying again as they "love opening up for everybody".

"When we first started it, I was really keen to do something that was good fun, out in the countryside and quite simple, which I think is what we've achieved here," she said.

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