It’s Peak Bloom at Colby Farm in Newbury
When a huge field in Newbury erupts with a flood of golden petals every September, smartphone-wielding New Englanders can’t help but Instagram it.
The sunflower spectacle at Colby Farm is a much loved and much photographed event. Photos of rosy-cheeked kids among the sunflowers pop up on Pinterest, newly engaged couples on Facebook, and ladies in sun hats on Instagram.
“I think today we’ve seen more than 1,000 people,” says Elizabeth Knight, who runs the farm with her husband, J.R. Colby.
“With social media, it’s just gotten to be more and more people,” she adds.
Colby Farm created the two-acre sunflower field on their hillside 12 years ago. Knight says ever since the farm joined Facebook and Instagram, the amount of visitors has steadily increased. Those vivid, petal-filled photos rake in the likes—she says some of her posts on social media have reached 30,000 views.
“We did have a drought this year, so we had to irrigate, but we managed to get (the sunflowers) up and they’re blooming beautifully,” says Knight, who has already seen plenty of Christmas outfits and wedding dresses.
That’s good news for the visitors who make the trek out to Colby Farm from as far away as New York and the Carolinas. But, Knight warns that next week, the flowers will begin to droop. In recent years, she’s had visitors arrive a week or two too late. Realizing the disappointment in arriving to a field of dying sunflowers, she decided to plant more sunflowers on the back side of the hill two weeks later than she normally does. This way, the late bloomers, so to speak, can still enjoy the golden splendor.
“If we can say, ‘Just walk around the back,’ they can have a whole new beautiful view,” says Knight.
While sunflower peepers are at it, they can pick up veggies, fruit, herbs, and flowers at the farm stand, as well as milk, eggs, cheeses, and other goodies from local suppliers. Fall favorites include cider donuts, apple cider, and local apples.
This week’s full bloom will continue through Sunday, September 11. And if they haven’t flooded your feed already, here are five stunning photos from Colby Farm.
1. In case one pup in the field wasn’t enough.
2. Golden hour with golden flowers? Too good.
3. There’s no better time to break out the poncho.
4. Or to brush up on your frolicking skills.
5. Fly up to Newbury before it’s too late.
Colby Farm, 50 Scotland Road, Newbury, MA, colbyfarms.com.
