SUNSHINE - Logan Piltingsrud enjoys a walk through one of Fish Sunflower’s fields located just outside of Manchester.
Star Eagle photos by Melanie Piltingsrud
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
Fish Sunflowers began six years ago when Johnny Olson, a real estate agent from northern MN., grew a field of sunflowers for an elderly couple in Big Lake, MN., who were dying. “It was to honor them,” said Olson. “And people started showing up and telling me their stories.
“I bought a little farm place,” Olson continued. “I never lived there. It was on a busy road, and accessibility was really tough.” But the field of sunflowers Olson planted there meant a lot to the elderly couple.
And then Olson did it again... and again. The project expanded to two fields, and then three fields. “I planted 12 fields last year,” said Fish. “This year I planted 16.”
Olson lost six of this year's sunflower plantings to drought, but it didn't deter the more than 45,000 individuals who follow him on Facebook or Instagram or on his web page, fishsunflowers.com. One field after the next was opened to the public in locations across Minn.: Albert Lea, Buffalo, Monticello, Zimmerman, Big Lake, Kimball, Montrose, Gibbon, Andover and Braham. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked from all corners of Minn., and even from out of state to walk the paths Olson made through his blooming fields.
One of the individuals who visited the Albert Lea location this year was Louise Gillis, a professional artist from Minneapolis, who stood in the field with her oil colors, painting a canvas. “I came out here for the sunflowers,” said Gillis, who explained that the Albert Lea location was one of the last fields to bloom this year because of the drought. “I've always wanted to paint a field of sunflowers,” she said.
“It was something I kept all the politics out of,” said Olson. “It's been breaking down barriers. It's not about turning the state blue or red. It's about turning it yellow and just loving one another and enjoying life!”
There's no admission fee to tour one of the Fish Sunflower fields. As Olson put it, “I do it on my own dime and my own time. I've never asked a penny from anybody. It's all about spreading sunshine, and having people come take pictures, and being the positive outlook that the world needs. There's a lot of gray.”
Each of the sunflower fields is planted in honor of someone Olson knows. “There's at least somebody that's been on my heart that I think about a lot,” said Olson. When Lynn Haldy was diagnosed with cancer, rather than giving her a flower, Olson planted a whole field of sunflowers for her. “I surprised her with that field,” he said. Per Olson, it was only a couple of months later that Haldy passed away.
When people come to see the sunflowers, they bring their own stories. “All the sudden there's a hundred or two hundred that [have] another similar battle, and we hear about it,” said Olson.
In order to find additional fields to plant in honor of others, Olson posts advertisements online, requesting space from anyone who will allow him to plant. “Basically that's half the battle,” said Olson. “Half the work is meeting with individuals, inspecting the location site, having a plan, talking to city council lots of times, getting permits [and] insurance. It's nuts. It's like five full-time jobs.”
Most of the fields Olson plants are raw ground that has never been cultivated before. “So you're taking root balls and concrete block, and rocks – everything you could imagine that's been buried since the beginning of time, and you're working it up and out,” said Olson.
Olson uses herbicide in uncultivated fields to kill off weeds. Then he plows with a moldboard plow, and then discs the fields up to 10 times each. “Then I fertilize,” said Olson. “Then I till, then I plant, [...] and then I come back and I do trails. It's a process.” When it comes to planting, most of the fields are sown with a planter. Others are hand-planted.
Once they start growing, Olson does not use pesticides or herbicides on the sunflowers, which explains why the flowers are covered in honey bees and butterflies. But Olson doesn't have to weed by hand. “The [sunflower] plant usually takes over,” said Olson.
In addition to the sunflowers, there are props in each of Olson's sunflower fields as well, including pianos, tractors, trucks, hay wagons, chairs, and mock photo booths. Many of these props appear in photos that people post on Olson's web page.
The location of the Fish Sunflower fields varies from year to year, and is always a surprise, as Olson doesn't disclose the locations until they open. This year, one of the fields appeared locally, on 255th St., Albert Lea down the road from Manchester, in a field belonging to Olson's cousin, Jared Dawson. The three plots of sunflowers there were planted in honor of veterans, hometown heroes, and mental health awareness.
Why sunflowers? “I'm legally colorblind,” said Olson. “I can see yellow.
“I wish I could sing a song or draw a picture,” Olson continued. “This is my way to express my love and appreciation to my state and my community. As simple as it may seem, it's my avenue.”
When people leave one of Olson's sunflower fields, he hopes they leave with the knowledge that they are loved. Per Olson, visiting a sunflower field is a time to shut out all the noise on the internet and on TV. “They just need to realize that there is hope and there is joy, and that they can have fun,” said Olson.
Olson has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars planting sunflower seeds. In order to continue to offer these rays of sunshine free of charge, Olson has started something new this year: Sunshine Kernels. All the sunflower seeds have been harvested and cold pressed to produce rich sunflower oil, which Olson combines with popcorn and salt to produce microwavable popcorn, available for pre-order on his website, fishsunflowers.com.