Sunflower farm reaps major cash boost for hospital

A family business has blossomed welcoming hundreds of visitors every year and raising thousands for neonatal care at Leighton Hospital.

Crewe Green Sunflowers is coming to the end of its growing season for 2025 after welcoming over 2000 visitors this summer.

Families have enjoyed a pick-your-own experience among the beautiful yellow blooms and meeting the farm’s very own bee keepers. Picnics, ice cream and cold drinks have made the perfect day out – an experience captured when BBC TV cameras visited to film a weather-related story earlier this month.

The family business, based on Park House Farm, Slaughter Hill, Crewe Green

is run by the Lewis family, with Simon and Alex at the helm. Children Dexter, 10, and Penny, seven, also chip with general tasks.

The farm is spread over a wide area and also produces an arable crop – so life on the farm is very busy but they love sharing their passion for the great outdoors.

The couple have a special reason to support the neonatal facility – their children received wonderful care in the unit and donate every year from entry fees to the attraction.

Alex said: “It’s our 5th year this year open to the public but we first grew sunflowers in 2011 for our wedding on the farm.

“What started as a small area of sunflowers in 2021 to celebrate our 10 years anniversary has now turned into almost 4ha of sunflowers for all to enjoy.

“We give a donation to charity at the end of the year and so far we’ve donated almost £30,000 to the neonatal unit in Crewe.

“The sunflowers encourage wildlife and pollinators to our farm and we now have a bee-keeper who makes beautiful honey in our sunflower fields too.

“We leave the flowers standing until autumn and then they are harvested – chopped up along with the maize corn to be fed to our cows.

“It’s a real family effort. Everyone pulls together over the summer and it’s a pleasure to meet so many people who share our love for these beautiful yellow blooms.”

Off the back of their social media following Crewe Green Sunflowers now offer educational access visits and up to 25 free school visits every year.

“We’ve had hundreds of children visit to learn where food comes from and how farmers work hard to provide food to the nation. We’re delighted to play our part in supporting schools in this way.”

Crewe Green Sunflowers is set to take a break soon as the flowers come to the end of their growing season but reopens end of September for pumpkin picking.

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Helen Cotton Photography