For special occasions, many come to Liberty Farm's Sussex County Sunflower Maze in Sandyston, NJ. What a treat for those benefiting from the Mental Health Association's services to roam the smiling faces of acres of sunflowers bringing us happiness.
Sunflowers represent sunshine, and giving them conveys friendship, good luck, admiration, love, and friendship. Thank you, Raj Sinha and your family, for giving us all that sunshine.
I think of them as smiley faces. May we all have more smiling faces to share.
Related Stories and Helpful Links
A Sunflower Maze Brings Happiness
Other Late-Season Bloomers
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Liberty Farm's Sussex County Sunflower Maze – Facebook Page
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Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 126 A Sunflower Maze Brings Happiness
Sat, Sep 16, 2023 11:20AM • 9:30
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
sunflowers, grew, raj, garden, share, pollinators, benefiting, new jersey, corn, sunflower, maze, neighbor, plant, bloomers, smiling faces, liberty, growth, services, crop, seeds, offered, dilemmas, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there, it's Mary Stone on a sunny screen porch with a welcome coolness in the air. Listening to the birds singing I just love that sound. I cannot wait to share this week's happy story. But before I do, I want to thank those of you that reached back about last week's chat, Late-Season bloomers and glorious goldenrod. A few of you asked where to seek out the beauties. Locally, I was able to suggest nurseries who carry them, but you can check your native plant nursery as many of the lovelies are native plants. Always a good thing. One of our late -season bloomers is an annual that many of us adore - sunflowers bringing me to this week's story which starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:09
Hello fellow listeners and readers. What a joy to visit Liberty Farm's Sussex County Sunflower Maze and Sandyston New Jersey where I interviewed the owner, Raj Sadly, Sinha. Sadly, my microphone didn't connect properly to share bits of our conversation, but we had a delightful chat. It's their 14th year of growing the maze. They started when the New Jersey Audubon Society wanted locally grown sunflower seeds. People were interested in the 50-acre field. So, Raj created an opportunity for folks to interact with the sunflowers close and in person. So, he made an amazing maze. He said people traveled from all over to visit some coming right from the airport.
Mary Stone 01:49
There's an article in the New York Times from 2012 about the grants that were given by the New Jersey Audubon Society for farmers to grow sunflowers. Liberty Farm was one of them. They sold the seeds to fundraise to create a nesting habitat for grassland birds in the South Branch Wildlife Management Area, a state-owned property in Hillsborough and Reddington townships New Jersey to encourage species in decline.
Mary Stone 02:16
Of course, I had to share the story of the sunflowers I grew from seed in the vegetable garden hand-dug by my dear old grandpa, who lived with us in his last years. He was a dairy farmer by trade. We'd have a friendly banter about the sunflowers shading the vegetables and attracting birds that would pick at the tomatoes. "But they attract pollinators," Raj said. That's what I told Grandpa, how clever my comeback was even as a kid.
Mary Stone 02:41
Each sunflower comprises up to 2000 florets filled with nectar, making them a lure for bees and other pollinators. And they are hyper-accumulators, meaning they can absorb metal and radiation toxins. After Fukushima and Chernobyl, millions of sunflowers were planted to absorb the poisons, and they've grown them to heal land contaminated with lead.
Mary Stone 03:04
Fast forward several decades my father-in-law from a form of marriage and I shared a vegetable garden when I lived in Boonton Township. We each had half of a 20 by 40-foot chain link fence with a chain link roof that served as a quail cage for the previous owners who raised them and released them for a hunt. Doesn't that sound troubling? The first crops we grew were super-sized by the quail leave behinds. It was so amazing literally you go out and see a zucchini one day and the next day it was a foot bigger. I am not kidding. And there was this corn smut that went on to the corn I grew. I had no idea that this fungus which looked like this black sooty growth - that was so strange, but it's a delicacy that people use in their quesadillas and other tortilla-based foods. It is supposed to taste like mushrooms or savory, earthy, smoky corn like or inky I read. Had I known that I would have saved the corn field of smut. Anyway, back to my story.
Mary Stone 04:04
Half of my side of the garden were sunflowers assorted kinds, but not the 50 varieties that Raj grows on his Liberty Farm. I'd pick them, photograph them, watercolor paint them, and give bunches away sharing the happiness. I asked Raj if he knew anything about the spiritual aspects of sunflowers, and he said that 6000 years ago, the Native Americans that lived nearby grew sunflowers, images of them were on pottery found recently.
Mary Stone 04:31
Sunflowers (Helianthus Annuus ) Hayley are native to North America and were a common crop among Native Americans who use all parts of the plant. Archaeological evidence suggests it was first grown as a crop about 3000 BC before corn was used in crops. After our interview, another kind fellow, I think he was Raj's father-in-law, tending the Liberty Farm stand of produce, honey, bouquets of sunflowers, and seeds to grow your own, shared a story about one of the visitors who came back the following year to complain that the sunflowers face the wrong way.
Mary Stone 05:08
Sunflowers are heliotropic, meaning they follow the sun when young and when they first flower, but once fully flowered, they stay put facing east to attract pollinators. If they're shaded by a building or tree, they'll turn and face a different way. The visitor said that the sunflowers didn't face their yard, but their neighbor who they didn't get along with. But their sunny faces turn the dynamics around because the neighbor thought that they planted sunflowers for them. Now they're best friends, which is a delightful story. The punch line is she came back to buy more seeds to grow on the other side of her house so that they'll face her, too.
Mary Stone 05:47
Many come to the maze for special occasions to make milestone announcements, take photographs, and Liberty Farm's Sussex County Sunflower Maze hosts weddings and other events. They kindly offered accommodation to the organization I'm benefiting from since March when I met Annette Hoffman and Carrie Parmalee at the Game of Life event held at the Sussex County Technical School in Lafayette New Jersey. We spoke about it in Episode 102 - A Successional Forest of Growth. Agencies from all over the county where they're on the high school students were given scenarios of challenges that can happen in life to match with Community Services. I was there representing Comfort Zone Camp, a grief camp for kids and young adults. And Annette and Carrie, were attending the Mental Health Association table supporting families and friends of individuals with mental illness and offering Early Intervention Support Services in northern New Jersey. Per their website, "we're here to listen help and remove the stigma associated with emotional and mental health issues and to inspire hope and healing."
Mary Stone 06:51
What a treat for those of us benefiting from their services to roam the field. As oppressively hot it was that day, the kindness of Raj and his family and the smiling faces of his acres of sunflowers brought us happiness. Amongst the group were two gardeners who shared lovely photos of their artistry. Indeed, gardening helps heal and soothe the soul. Garden Dilemmas, AskMaryStone.com.
Mary Stone 07:17
As I heard the story about the neighbor and the sunflowers, I couldn't help but think of my new friend down the road a piece that we spoke about in Mending Fences with forsythia in E96. The neighbor's giving them a hard time about an easement that Don’s sister had access to during her time there. It's disturbing, the dynamics. So maybe if they plant some flowers, they will face the neighbors and dispel the anger that has manifested for reasons that Don and Susan don't understand, causing them tremendous stress.
Mary Stone 07:46
Speaking of which, I've been benefiting from the free counseling services offered by Mental Health Associates for caregivers, helping me journey through the health challenges I've mentioned episodes ago. Turns out that stress has been the primary culprit of my sudden blood pressure spikes. Gratefully, health checks prove nothing significant. Our mind and body are closely connected. I was not aware until my body told me that I wasn't handling life challenges very well. And now I'm healing from that. So grateful.
Mary Stone 08:18
Sunflowers represent sunshine, giving them conveys friendship, good luck, admiration, love, and friendship. Thank you, Raj, and your family for giving us all that sunshine. I think of them as smiley faces. Maybe we all have more smiling faces to share.
Mary Stone 08:34
Thanks so much for coming by. I always enjoy our time together and I hope you have as well and if so, I sure would appreciate more five-star ratings if you feel so inclined. Because for some magical reason. It inspires more to find us and more of us will learn and grow in the garden of life. It means so much. Thanks again. See you next time on the screen porch.
Mary Stone 09:00
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.