Day Trip to Buttonwood Sunflower Farm, Griswold, Connecticut

Buttonwood Farm in Preston, Connecticut is the place to go when you want awesome homemade ice cream and you want to bask in the glow of a 14 acres of sunflowers.

Back in 2003 the owners of the farm decided to plant an acre of sunflowers. Over the course of that year they found that people were driving from miles around just to look at the sunflowers and take pictures of them. At the end of the season they used the seeds for feed for their animals and today they not only use the seeds as feed but they sell bunches of sunflowers to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation.

A bunch of fresh cut sunflowers will cost you a $5.00 donation and 100% of the proceeds goes directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They also have t-shirts available, and the sunflower design on the front of the shirt changes every year. Since 2004 Buttonwood Farm has raised over $305,000 for Make a Wish by selling their wonderful sunflowers.

2011 Update: The Sunflower Event will be held from July 23 to July 31, 2011 from 10 am to dusk each day

Sunflowers for Wishes benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut. Come view more than 10 acres of sunflowers in bloom, enjoy a hayride, and contribute to a wonderful cause. Don’t forget to try the sunflower ice cream -  available only during this event.

Directions: www.sunflowersforwishes.com/directions

Not only can you take photographs of sunflowers but you can experience a tractor drawn hayride daily from 11 am – dusk and on weekends 10 am – dusk. The ride is 3/4 ths of a mile through cow pastures and 4 acres of the sunflower fields in bloom.

Griswold