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Sunflower displays across Perth and Kinross cancelled due to ‘rubbish’ summer

"We wanted to create a maze, path and trail through the sunflowers."

Fraser Turnbull with a sunflower
Fraser Turnbull with one of the rare sunflowers he managed to harvest last year. Image: Fraser Turnbull

Planned sunflower displays across Perth and Kinross have been cancelled due to this year’s wet and dull summer.

The owners of Fruix Farm, between Kinross and Kelty, planted seeds this spring in the hope they would blossom into sunflowers for the community to enjoy.

But the lack of clear skies, particularly in early summer, prevented the crop from growing.

Elsewhere, Gloagburn Farm Shop in Tibbermore has been unable to hold its annual sunflower trail due to the “rubbish” weather.

Weather fails Kinross-shire farm’s sunflower plans

Fruix is a 180-acre arable farm just west of M90 Junction 5.

George Turnbull runs the family enterprise with son Andrew and his wife Fiona.

Their son Fraser, 21, tried to grow sunflowers in 2023 and again this year.

Due to a poor summer, last year’s crop wasn’t good enough to hold a display.

However, Fraser salvaged a half-acre field of sunflowers that he sold at Kinross Farmers’ Market at the end of summer.

Fraser Turnbull selling sunflowers at Kinross Farmers' Market in 2023
Fraser Turnbull selling sunflowers at Kinross Farmers’ Market in 2023. Image: Fraser Turnbull

But the weather has completely failed him this year.

“Sunflowers were my idea to do something around the farm and change it up a bit,” Fraser said.

“The plan was to allow the public to view them but I didn’t share those plans until we knew we had a crop.

“We wanted to create a maze, path and trail through the sunflowers.

“It would have been really popular had I managed to grow them this year.”

Other crops struggling at Fruix Farm

But a certain yellow dwarf star has been elusive these past two summers.

“The problem has been the lack of sun this year,” Fraser said.

“You need two to three weeks of good conditions.

“But during the whole period of May and June there was just never a consistent period of sun.

“Last year I planted three acres of sunflowers and this year I wanted to go to 10 acres.

“But it never happened.”

A tractor planting sunflower seeds at Fruix Farm this spring. Image: Fraser Turnbull
A tractor planting sunflower seeds at Fruix Farm this spring. Image: Fraser Turnbull

It’s not just sunflowers that have struggled.

“Most crops aren’t great this year,” Fraser continued.

“But at least we have managed to grow some barley, which is better than nothing.”

Gloagburn Farm Shop cancels popular sunflower display

The sunflower display at Gloagburn Farm Shop, five miles west of Perth city centre, has been an annual fixture since 2021.

The farm contains more than 1,000 acres of mixed arable and pastoral farmland.

The trail field is planted in the spring on a 13-acre plot and, on a good year, can contain more than 250,000 sunflowers, averaging 4ft tall.

The attraction became ticket-only in 2022 after its introduction the previous summer proved overwhelmingly popular.

Huge queues of traffic in 2021 forced the premature closure of the trail “for responsibilities to the local community, neighbours and staff”.

The Gloagburn Farm Sunflower Trail in 2022. Image: Graeme Hart

But this year has been a damp squib.

A post on Gloagburn’s Facebook page said: “We all know the weather has been rubbish this year so far and sadly our sunflowers have suffered.

“It’s not been without trying, 3 times we have sown the field and each time they have failed to germinate and grow like previous years.

“During periods of poor weather we are always at risk of having a failed crop, our climate is borderline for sunflowers to thrive.

“So disappointingly there will be no event this year for you all to enjoy, but here’s to 2025 when we go again.”

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