Summer is sunflower season in North Louisiana, and the Red River Crossroads Historical and Cultural Association invites all to come out and see this magnificent bloom for themselves.
Between mid-June and early July, follow the flowers along LA Highway 3049 from Shreveport to Gilliam and lose yourself amid fields-full of the golden, dinner-plate-sized beauties. Better yet, drive the trail on June 14, and be greeted in Gilliam at the 26th Annual Sunflower Trail Festival, complete with live bands, local food vendors, and a plethora of artists and their crafts.
According to Edgewood Farms owner Gordon Boogaerts, the Sunflower Trail began more than twenty years ago, when—instead of mowing fifteen to twenty acres of his farm—he planted sunflowers on a whim. “The good Lord’s paintbrush touched our field, and they were just beautiful that first year,” he reflected.
Each morning, as Boogaerts drove the twelve miles from his house to his farm supply store in Gilliam, he thought it would be nice to view the sunflowers along the entire strip. He spoke with neighboring farmers, and the next year, he lined the road to his business “two whistlestop towns away” with the flowers. “From there, people got involved, the local ladies started helping, and it just developed,” said Boogaerts. “The whole thing took on a life of its own. The news media started putting it on TV, and the next thing we knew, thousands of people came out.”
Boogaerts’s initial crop featured a variety of sunflowers, but today, the trail is largely made up of Peredovik sunflowers, a favorite of birds for its small seeds and high oil content. When asked for tips on raising the blooms at home, Boogaerts explained that sunflowers are quite resilient if you simply plant them and keep the weeds at bay. He noted that they take about two months to bloom after the seeds are put into the ground, and can usually handle cold weather pretty well. “The key is to not plant them too thick,” he added. “You need to have them a foot or two apart, and then they’ll get bigger.”
Visit the Red River Crossroads Historical site for a map of the trail and more information on the Sunflower Trail Festival. Once in Gilliam, stop by the library to view the Crossroads Museum and purchase a festival poster.
