A farmer has surprised his wife for their 50th wedding anniversary by planting 80 acres of sunflowers.
Lee Wilson, a farmer from Kansas, planted about 1.2 million sunflowers in his field, with roughly 15,000 sunflowers per acre. With the help of his son, Wilson began planting the flowers in May and managed to keep them a secret from his wife, Renee Wilson.
"Well we’re celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary August 10th and you know what’s a guy get his gal for the 50th?” Wilson told Wichita-based outlet and ABC affiliate, KAKE-TV. “And I put a lot of thought into it and she always liked sunflowers.”
The couple have been together since high school, according to KAKE-TV, after their first date at a roller skating party. “We met in high school. She couldn’t date until she was 16, and I called her on her 16th birthday and that’s when we started dating,” Lee said.
As for how Renee reacted to her husband’s anniversary surprise, she said: “It made me feel very special. It couldn’t have been a more perfect anniversary gift than a field of sunflowers.”
Now, fans of the yellow flower can view the 80-acre field off the south side of Highway 54, four miles outside of Pratt, Kansas, where the Wilsons live. However, sunflower season is soon coming to a close, so the flowers will only be in bloom for another two weeks.
For most climates, sunflower season blossoms in late August to early September. The sunny flower is known for its high-reaching stalks, with some growing up to 10 feet tall. It also happens to be the state flower of Kansas.
Much like Lee and Renee Wilson, a couple married for more than 82 years previously shared their advice for a long-lasting marriage. In 2019, D W Williams and Willie Williams celebrated their anniversary during a joint birthday party thrown by their daughter and granddaughter at First Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
While reflecting on their decades-long marriage, which spanned the Great Depression and the Civil Rights era, the couple shared that kindness was key to making love last.
“I don’t have no secret for that, just be nice to each other,” Willie told WSOC-TV at the time.
The couple’s granddaughter, BJ Williams-Greene, also shared what she’s learned about relationships from watching her grandparents over the years. “It’s communication and loving each other and working together,” she said. “They are each other’s best friend. To see them at this age and still doing well, it’s just a blessing to have them here.”
