— Aubrey Hopkins of Billings —

             Aubrey Hopkins is a city girl.  “I’ve never lived on a farm. I was terrible at gardening,” admits Hopkins, who has lived her whole life in Billings, the largest city in Montana.

       Still, she didn’t let her city roots keep her from planting something very special.

       After years as a stay-at-home mom, Hopkins wanted to bring in some extra income for her family. “I had a woodworking business at one time,” she remarks.  “I enjoyed working for myself, but I didn’t really love woodworking. Then I remembered as a kid, a friend and I would daydream about living in the middle of a sunflower field. We thought that sounded so cool.”

       Even as an adult, the idea of a sunflower field still sounded cool to Hopkins. So she decided to plant a little sunflower field right in the city of Billings. She figured it might be a place people could take photos and maybe pick some bouquets.

       In the fall of 2022, posted on Facebook, hoping to gauge interest. Hundreds of people liked and shared her post. Local television and radio stations picked up the story, and the idea just kept growing.

       Hopkins spent the winter planning and searching for the perfect location for her sunflower field. Her search led her to a quarter-acre section of land on Shiloh Road, a busy street on the west side of Billings

       In 2023, Hopkins hosted her first “Sunflower Festival.”

       “I had no experience of hosting events or anything like that. It was a huge learning curve that first year,” Hopkins recalls. “But we had thousands of people come out that first year. We ran out of sunflower.”

       The next year, she planted more sunflower. She chose different hybrid varieties, some that bloom 55 days after planting, others 65 days, and still more that bloom 110 days after planting.

       “Our field is blooming for about two months,” she says.

This year, Hopkins’ sunflower field grew to just over an acre. She added more flowers, including zinnias, cosmos and even buckwheat.        “Those other flowers add a nice touch to the bouquets people cut,” says Hopkins, who continues dreaming big for her little field of sunflower.        “Every year, I think, ‘Maybe Billings has had enough.  Maybe the Sunflower Festival has run its course — and then every year, more and more people come out. This year we had more than 6,000 people attend the festival.”

Aubrey & Cody Hopkins

       The Sunflower Festival, held the second weekend of September, has grown to include more than just sunflower. There are photo ops, food trucks, local artisans and vendors, outdoor games, live music and you-cut bouquets.

       “I just wanted to bring a little piece of beauty to Billings,” she says.  “We need more outdoor, family friendly things to do. I grew up here. I know all too well the struggles. I wanted to be a part of the change.”

       Hopkins also rents the field for special events and photography sessions. She does it all mostly alone; her husband, Cody, helps when needed.

       Hopkins says she’s still daydreaming about sunflower and has dreams of expanding her field even more next year. She hopes to plant more sunflower and also add other flowers, including dahlias and maybe tulips.

       And, never one to dream small, her big dream is to eventually purchase a bigger piece of land where she can host year-round events and bring a little extra sunshine to her hometown.

          You can learn more at flowersteadfarms.com. Follow the farm on Facebook and Instagram too; just search “Flowerstead Farms” on both social media platforms. — Jody Kerzman