Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Farmer Gives His Wife 1.2 Million Sunflowers For Their 50th Anniversary

Author Phil Harris
Kansas farmer Lee Wilson decided to give his wife, Renee, an unconventional yet stunning surprise for their 50th wedding anniversary: an 80-acre field of sunflowers. (Photo by Liudmila Chernetska/Getty Images)

Is it too early to hand out the award for “Husband of the Year” in 2023? I think we may already have a winner. Traditionally, a 50th wedding anniversary is celebrated with a gift of gold. But who says that gift of gold has to be jewelry?

For their 50th wedding anniversary, Kansas farmer Lee Wilson decided on an unconventional yet stunning surprise for his wife, Renee. Knowing that his high school sweetheart loves sunflowers, Lee planted a few for her in one of their fields. Okay, not just a few. According to KABC-TV, Lee planted approximately 15,000 sunflowers per acre in an 80-acre field. That works out to a total of about 1.2-million sunflowers.

Lee started the secret project back in May with the help of his son. “Well, we’re celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary August 10th and, you know, what’s a guy get his gal for the 50th?,” Lee says, “I put a lot of thought into it and she always liked sunflowers.” A lot of thought, and a lot of work.

Renee Wilson was blown away by the touching and monumental gesture, saying, “It made me feel very special. It couldn’t have been a more perfect anniversary gift than a field of sunflowers.” The breathtaking sunflower field is located near the town of Pratt, Kansas, which is about 80 miles west of Wichita.

The anniversary gift has now become a local attraction, drawing in crowds wanting to take photos. Unfortunately, sunflowers don’t last forever. They only look picture-perfect for about two weeks. But you can see them in the video below!

Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.

Can You Guess North Carolina's Favorite Flower? It's Not The Dogwood

Spring is in the air, and the flowers are blooming. I absolutely love looking at all the gorgeous flowers decorating Charlotte these days. And on my to-do list for this week is to purchase a bouquet of flowers to brighten up my house. My favorite flower is probably an orchid or tulips. But have you ever wondered what flowers other people enjoy the most? A study by Primrose revealed the favorite flower in each US state.

To do this, the experts at Primrose analyzed Google search data for 1,085 plant and flower variations to determine favorite flowers and plants in each country, US state, and UK city. So which flower is number one in North Carolina? I’ll give you a hint: the flower that topped North Carolina’s list is also the most popular flower overall in the United States. It was searched in North Carolina 853,500 times. That’s a lot!

The study analyzed Google searches across each US state to reveal that residents of North Carolina love their roses. In fact, the state has searched for roses over 853,500 times in the last year alone. As you’ll see below, North Carolinians are in the majority with their love for roses.

  • Rose

    Roses

    Along with being North Carolina’s favorite flower, the rose is by far the most popular in the country. Checkout the other states it also ranks at the top of.

    • North Carolina
    • Alaska
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Kentucky
    • Lousiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Missouri
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • Oklahoma
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • Tennessee
    • Utah
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wisconsin
    • Wyoming

  • Sunflower

    Sunflowers

    The sunflower came up as the second most popular flower. But won a lot fewer states that the rose. States who preferred the sunflower are:

    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • South Dakota

     

  • Forget Me Not

    Forget Me Nots

    Alaska’s favorite flower is the forget me not.

  • Frangipani

    Frangipani

    Hawaii has a completely different climate than the rest of the country so it makes sense they are unique in their favorite flower choice.

  • Peony

    Peonies

    Vermont chose peony as its favorite flower.

  • Cactus

    Cactus

    Perhaps the most surprising choice on this list belongs to Washington and the cactus.

Get The K Files Newsletter Delivered Directly To Your Inbox

You'll be in the know on music and entertainment news, exclusive giveaways, and what's happening in right here in Charlotte.

*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Author Phil Harris
Category:
Tags:
,,

More K104.7

Load More