You couldn’t have asked for better weather to spend some time outdoors at the opening day of the Sunflower U-Pick in Marion Bridge on Saturday. Sydney River friends, Beverley Maroun, left and Beth Mackay travelled out to Rock Elm Gardens on Intervale Road. and selected large bouquets of the brightly-coloured flowers to take home. ROSEMARY GODIN/Cape Breton PostArticle contentIt’s like walking through rows and rows of sunshine.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle content“How can you not feel good?” asks Bev Maroun of Sydney River as she stands in the middle of a field of bright, yellow sunflowers. “They’re gorgeous. Your spirits just rise as you walk along.”Article contentArticle contentMaroun and her friend Beth Mackay were two of the first to head out to Rock Elm Gardens farm on Saturday morning when the Sunflower U-Pick spot opened up to the public. The farm is located at 870 Intervale Road in Marion Bridge. The road is almost directly across from the entrance to the Two Rivers Wildlife Park and the farm is five kilometres down the road.Article contentArticle contentThe two Sydney River women couldn’t stop commenting about how good it felt to walk between the rows and rows of growing gold.Article contentSunflower grower Vicki MacKinnon said it is the second year for the Sunflower U-Pick. In May, the fourth-generation farm operation held a successful u-pick of tulips, which sold out.Article content An estimated 25,000 sunflower seeds were planted to create row upon row of this sunny picture on a 4th-generation farm run by the MacKinnon family on Intervale Road, in Marion Bridge. Rock Elm Gardens opened its second season of a Sunflower U-Pick on Saturday and expects to be open on several more weekends as the season progresses. ROSEMARY GODIN/Cape Breton PostArticle contentHer sister owns a lavender U-pick on a farm across the road that was open earlier this season.Article contentShe says her sister, daughter and nephew came up with this idea for the Sunflower U-pick.Article content“We wanted to keep the tradition of our family farm going,” MacKinnon said on Saturday. “Dad spent a lot of time with the grounds and mom spent an awful lot of time with the garden. We wanted to do something to honour them.”Article contentShe said she and her husband spent a lot of time cutting the lawn in the past but growing thousands of sunflowers “is a little less grass.”Article contentArticle contentMacKinnon’s daughter is studying landscape architecture at Dalhousie Agricultural Campus so “we tap into her expertise to figure some of these things out.”Article contentThey hope people will enjoy coming out on the weekends to gather the sunny flowers. The first weekend, with its great weather, saw a steady flow of cars to the farm property.Article contentMacKinnon says the Sunflower U-Pick will be open for the next few weekends until the flowers begin to fade or weather affects them. Last year, their season was stopped by some heavy wind and rain after a couple of weeks.Article contentShe says the recent drought conditions have affected the height of the flowers and they are about a foot shorter than last year. But they are still as vibrant in colour as expected.Article content Rock Elm Gardens in Marion Bridge has just opened its Sunflower U-Pick for the 2025 season. Above, owner Vicki MacKinnon holds a bright bouquet of the flowers her family has grown despite the dry summer. She says the sunflowers are shorter than last year, but just as vibrant in colour. ROSEMARY GODIN/Cape Breton PostArticle contentFully accessibleArticle contentThe farm wants the public to know it is fully accessible and there is lots of parking. The flowers are planted beside the road and are easy for anyone to get to, even in wheelchairs.
Cape Breton u-pick raises spirits with rows and rows of sunshine
