A nation in bloom: An 80-Acre sunflower field commemorates America 250

By Ty Higgins

What started as a simple challenge to grow sunflowers has blossomed into one of Ohio’s most unique agritourism destinations. This summer, Schoolhouse Farms, located north of Celina, is taking that vision to an entirely new level with what owner Vaughn Davis believes is the world’s largest cartographically accurate sunflower map of the United States, created to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

The 80-acre display will serve as the centerpiece of the farm’s annual Farms in Bloom Festival, combining agriculture, technology and patriotism into a one-of-a-kind experience.

For Davis, farming has always been part of his story.

“I was born right around here,” Davis said. “My dad, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather all farmed. I grew up doing that on the weekends.”

Although he earned a chemical engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and spent years traveling the world, Davis eventually found himself drawn back home.

A friend’s request to grow sunflowers for birds launched what has become Schoolhouse Farms. Nearly a decade later, the operation has expanded beyond sunflowers to include popcorn, distilling grains, and lavender while building both wholesale and retail markets under its own brand.

Agritourism soon became a natural extension of the farm.

“Sunflowers are beautiful, and lots of people wanted to look at them,” Davis said. “There was so much traffic along the road taking pictures that we eventually decided to capitalize on that.”

That idea has steadily grown into the Farms in Bloom Festival, where visitors not only enjoy the flowers, but also gain a better appreciation for agriculture.

“I just find it personally rewarding to be able to convey how happy and hardworking we are to everybody else,” Davis said.

This year’s attraction has been years in the making.

Five years ago, Schoolhouse Farms created what Davis called the world’s largest hydrological map of Ohio in sunflowers. The project prompted one obvious question.

“I was thinking, ‘How am I ever going to top this?'” Davis said. “I knew America 250 was coming up, and I thought, let’s make the world’s largest map of America ever made.”

The project required far more than simply planting sunflowers in the shape of the country. Davis wanted the map to be geographically accurate.

“We programmed an Albers equal-area conical projection map,” he said. “I knew the planter wasn’t good enough four years ago to do what we did today.”

Over the past three years, Davis upgraded his planter with individual electric row drives while learning how to maximize the technology. This year, he paired those improvements with artificial intelligence and custom programming to transform the digital map into planting files.

“We basically used the planter as a printer and the 80-acre field as a sheet of paper,” Davis said.

The result is an incredible field of sunflowers that, as the blooms emerge, reveals a detailed map of the United States.

Davis credits both modern technology and old-fashioned patience for making the project possible.

When the crop appeared slow to develop earlier this summer, he admitted he briefly questioned whether the display would be ready.

“I almost canceled the whole thing,” Davis said. “You just have to be patient. Sunflowers don’t look like much for about half their life, and then all of a sudden they kick into fourth gear.”

Visitors will have a limited opportunity to see the display at its peak. Sunflowers typically remain in full bloom for only 10 to 14 days before beginning their natural decline toward harvest.

The Farms in Bloom Festival, located in Mercer County just off of State Route 117, a quarter mile west of State Route 127, runs Aug. 6 through Aug. 9 and features vendors, food trucks, live music, yoga, fireworks and evening stargazing. Davis said the festival offers something for all ages while giving visitors a chance to experience agriculture up close.

“Come one, come all,” he said. “Enjoy.”