Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
The Sunflower Field in Autaugaville started out just like any other field in the rural town of Autaugaville, as a crop. But has now turned into a start of summertime staple for the local community.
Todd and Kim Sheridan own the Sunflower Field in Autaugaville and started farming sunflowers as a crop over nine years ago, where Todd started leaving the gate open for people to come take photos. Now, it’s a full operation with vendors and availability to pick your own bouquet.
“You can’t put a price on something like this, and when you feel like it’s a blessing for you, you don’t want to turn it into something for profit. You want it to be a blessing for everybody.
So, this is everyone’s blessing,” Kim said.
Sunflowers only bloom for about 10 days, and they only bloom once. Todd planted two fields back-to-back this year, so the Sunflower Field only operates for about 20-25 days out of the year.
The Sheridan’s planted earlier than usual this year to combat the heat for their patrons, Todd confirmed. Last weekend was their opening day and they should run operations through the first week of July or so.
“What people don’t expect is for a flower to be seven feet tall when you get out to the field. But I’m trying to make a crop. So, I feed it, and you know, they’re six and seven feet tall, and people come out here and go, how do you do this? It’s just like any other crop around here,” Todd said with a smile.
But something that sets Sheridan’s and the Sunflower Field apart is their accommodating nature and their dedication to helping everyone be able to see and enjoy the sea of gold.
To ensure everyone can take in the full beauty of the sunflower field, Todd runs a wagon that will take patrons through the golden field of sunflowers, which creates accessibility for people of all ages to enjoy the Field.
Todd learned about farming from his granddad at a young age, however after receiving his BA in biology from AUM, he went into the trucking business. However, a little over 10 years ago, he made the switch back to farming, following his heart and sunshine field passion for what he grows, where Todd grew up.
“Seeing everyone come out, and seeing their amazement has been the most rewarding. Everyone has a connection or a memory with sunflowers and it’s great to them enjoy it too,” Todd said.
Entry to enjoy the field of sunshine is free, however if you want to take the sunshine in the form of sunflowers home with you, you can purchase a bucket of 14 sunflowers for $12
Updates can be found on their Facebook page, where Kim stated they post almost every day to update people on the state of the fields. The Sunflower Field is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day while in bloom, and opens at 6 a.m. Saturdays. The fields are located on the left side of Highway 14, at 3301 Hwy 14 West, Autaugaville.
While sunflowers don’t have a scent, so stopping to “smell the flowers” might be a bit difficult. But stopping to enjoy the little things is so important, because they may not be here for long.
