Buffalo sunflower fields offer healing, hope

Ever since the February 9 shooting at the Allina Crossroads Clinic in Buffalo, patients have been receiving care elsewhere as healthcare staff and the community have been processing and healing together, and the clinic has been undergoing repairs.

While the clinic will remain closed for the time being, the land surrounding it now offers a place of healing and hope, as fields of sunflowers have now begun to bloom, thanks to Fish Sunflowers.

Planting Seeds

Johnny Olson was named after both of his grandfathers, and when he was growing up, they talked a lot about their farms, family, and serving their country.

“I’ve always had the itch to farm, I love supporting people, and I thought, ‘How can I take a lot of energy that I’m putting into work, into the community?’”

Six years ago, Fish Sunflowers was born from supporting a man Olson knew who had cancer. Olson bought a small piece of land from him near Big Lake/Becker Township, cleared out the trash, weeds, rocks, and five generations worth of debris, then planted a memorial garden for him that was filled with sunflowers.

That first garden attracted people by itself, with no advertising or intention to promote it.

“People were pulling over and would say, ‘Hey man, this is really beautiful; this is awesome!’” Olson shared. “So, I did it again, and again, and now I want to go on a mission!”

Fish Sunflowers

What started out as a single memorial garden has now, five years later, turned into a thriving project of hope. Olson’s sunflower fields are open to the public to enjoy, whether that be by taking family photos, strolling through the fields, or having a picnic. While there are for-profit flower fields planted every year that charge an admission fee, Fish Sunflower Fields are free of charge.

“I’m tired of people selling things to other people, like with retail, and what it costs to take a family out,” Olson said. “This is going to be on my time, and my dime.”

Each field planted costs between $10-15,000, which includes the prepping, maintenance, fertilizer, seeds, and lease agreements, to name a few factors; after the fields bloom, he returns to harvest, break the ground again, and plant grass.

It isn’t hard to find land to use, as many people are eager to welcome a free flower field to their community, and this helps Olson to continually switch up the locations.

“My dream for 2022 – and we’re working on it – is for a non-profit,” Olson shared. “It’s never been for-profit – it’s been at an absolute loss – but to go into 10 cities throughout Minnesota and beautify these lots, promote the city, hire help to get it done, and any proceeds would go back into the lot or to the city, is the dream. I’m so passionate about it.”

It’s also curious as to why Olson specifically chose the sunflower as the flower he would want to plant in the fields.

“I’m colorblind, but I can see yellow,” Olson explained. “I think sunflowers just represent a lot of good stuff – I can see it, and a lot of people can relate to it; the flower is light, bright, and fun.”

Buffalo’s Fields

This season, Fish Sunflowers continues its journey into new communities, with two fields in Buffalo.

Past efforts to plant a field in Buffalo never quite worked out, but now, two fields began to bloom this past week; sunflowers take about 55-65 days to grow, and only last about 7-10 days once they bloom.

The first two days of the fields being open, July 18 and 19, Allina healthcare workers, first responders, law enforcement, and those affected by the Feb. 9 tragedy were able to walk the fields before they were opened to the public on Tuesday, July 20. As the bloom time for sunflowers is relatively short, the fields will be open through Tuesday, July 27.

These fields take the Olson’s mission of spreading hope and joy a step further – to offer a place of healing. Very soon, the Buffalo Allina Clinic will be surrounded with bright, yellow fields of sunflowers, a place for the community to gather and take another step in processing the February 9 shooting.

Part of the planting process included the opportunity for Lindsay Overbay’s family to join Olson in planting the sunflower seeds.

“It was good for Donnie [Overbay] to be out there and doing this, but it was also good for me to see how strong he is,” Olson said of the experience. “He’s an awesome testament to having the really powerful choice to be really unhappy, or to be positive, calm, and collected.”

Spreading The Joy

The sunflowers don’t stop at the boundaries of the fields, either. Along with the two fields surrounding the clinic, Olson has dropped off packets of free seeds for the public at a variety of businesses and locations around town; anyone wanting a little piece of sunshine in their garden or yard is welcome to take a packet home to grow.

“People are starving for some positivity,” he said. “They’re starving for the opportunity to express themselves, and they need something to do with the kids – it doesn’t cost them anything. There are no strings attached. The whole idea is to connect people together, and there’s a lot of conversation based around flowers.”

Supporting The Joy

In his many years of planting flowers, Olson “hasn’t accepted a nickel,” even when costs totaled to $100,000 last year.

With more and more interest in supporting his mission, though, Olson has welcomed the financial help this year. On his website, fishsunflowers.com, there is a “Support” tab, where people can reach out with land use opportunities, help to plant seeds, or give financially to help grow the movement.

“This year we set it up for people to support, if they feel led to, but they’re not obligated to,” Olson said. “There aren’t donation boxes out there [at the fields]. If they want to give, they give. Any support goes right back into the fields.”

The Beauty of

Sunflowers

At the heart of his sunflower fields, Olson’s hope is that they offer a place for people to connect and enjoy the flowers surrounding them.

“My hope would be that people just see the beauty, and the beauty is not just the sunflowers, but the people in them,” Olson shared. “The flower represents so many different things to so many people - the seeds that are planted, to the actual plant, to the seeds in the plant, to the butterflies and the bees that are helping those seeds grow.”

Whether it’s a simple walk to clear one’s head, or the chance to see some people, the sunflower fields are the place to go, Olson said. Many photographers also use the fields as an opportunity to capture family or couples’ portraits, the bright, tall sunflowers towering behind them.

“The photographers and the public have become a positive algorithm in a world that is a mess,” Olson said. “They’re bypassing Channel 9, and Channel 11, and all of these news broadcasts and they’re crushing it. They took a photo, used a hashtag, and they blew up social media with a positive algorithm.”

For those eager to enjoy more fields once they bloom, Olson’s website has the option to sign up for bloom notifications. Outside of the Allina Clinic’s fields, all other locations are kept secret until they bloom to protect the flowers.

Be sure to stop by the clinic’s fields before July 27, and enjoy the beauty and peace that the sea of sunflowers brings.