Here comes the sunflowers

“About five or six years ago, we were growing sunflowers and people turned up, jumping the fence, wanting to take photos, so we opened up the field and made it an event every year,” he said.

“We get people coming from Melbourne and miles away and they all just spend hours in there taking photos.

“Last year we were swamped, we had thousands of people last year ... we have an old fella come give us a hand to park the cars, otherwise it gets too chaotic.”

This year, the Whipp family has continued to build on its past success.

Mr Whipp’s wife, Claira Whipp, is a photographer and will offer photoshoots during the event.

Last year the family ran a sunflower maze activity, but this year, the maze has been carved out in a corn field between the sunflower fields.

The corn field is taller and denser than the sunflowers, giving attendees more of a challenge.

For the kids, there will be a hay bale obstacle course set up in an adjoining paddock, as well as a lollipop pick.

Visitors can also take some of the flowers home for $4 per stem or $30 for a bunch of 10.

Although the event is a fun side job for the family, Mr Whipp said it gave them a chance to put the smaller communities on the map.

“We try to be community people and send (visitors) to the towns near us,” he said.

“People will come up and ask ‘where’s the best bakery?’ or for us to recommend a pub, and we just send them to Rochester or Colbinabbin and Elmore.”

The entry fees are $10 per adult or $5 for kids under 12, which will cover parking, entry to the sunflower fields and all other activities.

Morning sessions will run from 8.30am to 11am and evening sessions will be held from 6pm to 8.30pm at 517 Thornton Rd, Timmering.

The last sessions are on this weekend, Saturday, February 22, and Sunday, February 23.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/events/1353045852517764