A sea of a million yellow sunflowers at Liberty Farm in Sussex County has a surprise hidden in its fields for those who visit.
It’s the largest sunflower maze on the East Coast and the first in the nation.
It may look like a standard sunflower field on the 50-acre farm in Sandyston, NJ, a rural farming community 10 miles away from the Delaware River Water Gap.
But inside is an elaborate maze, each year spelling out a new message for the world that draws thousands of visitors embarking on the adventure. This year’s message: “Pray for world peace.”
Farm owner and maze creator, Raj Sinha along with his wife, young son, and father-in-law open their maze for the season to sunflower enthusiasts each year since 2012.
“We decided that sunflowers were really good for the environment and people love them, and we wanted a way for people to come and enjoy them,” Sinha told the Post.
The farm is also home to nearly 50 varieties of sunflowers, from the classic yellow to pink sunflowers and red sunflowers, and even one called “Teddy Bear” sunflower.
The Warren County native has owned Liberty Farm since 2005 and started growing black seed sunflowers for the New Jersey Audubon Society, which is most commonly used for cooking oil and bird seed.
Sinha also works with a sunflower breeder to create different colors and sunflowers each season.
A self-guided environmental tour is available, which teaches guests the benefit of sustainable farming, the wildlife present on the farm, and the efforts the farm is putting in to give back to the environment.
Guests might also catch a glimpse of a Monarch butterfly that has made it’s home on the farm – which has been put on the endangered species list.
The farm also has pollination meadows which attract millions of bees each year. Not to worry for those in fear of bees. The bee pollination meadows are kept separate from the sunflower maze.
The sunflower maze runs from Aug. 24 to this Sunday until it closes until next season.
“A lot of people come here just for nature photography,” said Sinha “We’ve had photographers from National Geographic and the Smithsonian that have come out here to take pictures.”
