SUNFLOWERS
Charity
2026 Update
It has rolled around to that time of year again, when the sunflower patch (which we have been trying to hide) starts to flower and is ready for picking.
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Unfortunately this year, our little sunflowers have been through a lot. They have experienced a very dry summer and a very hot summer, surviving only on the small amount of moisture which was in the soil. This means the sunflowers are much smaller than normal, meaning they are very cute but they are also very tough!
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The sunflower patch is just on the Western side of Freeling, on Templers Road. Easy to spot! You will see a bale of straw with "ENTRY" written on it, drive into the paddock, keep to the left and follow the directions to the parking area on the Southern side of the sunflower patch. The donation tin (a red toolbox) will be next to the straw bale with "PARKING" written on it.
Please keep in mind that there will be people with young children out picking flowers, so please drive at walking pace.
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This year we will be raising money for The Michael Rice Centre for Haematology and Oncology, based at the Women's and Children's Hospital. Our sunflowers are exactly like the children who use the services of the Michael Rice Centre - they've been through some challenging times, but they're small and tough and beautiful like a ray of sunshine!
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Money raised from our sunflower patch will go directly towards assisting the families of the children at the Michael Rice Centre. We have been told first hand how much the staff care for the children and importantly, how much they look after the needs of the family - this first hand account has inspired us to support the Michael Rice Centre with this year's sunflower patch.
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The sunflower patch will be open from sunrise until sunset every day until the flowers are gone.
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If anything changes or any notifications need to go out, we will post alerts via our Facebook page.
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Happy picking!
2025
Unfortunately we didn’t get enough rainfall in 2024, so The Barns of Freeling won’t have a sunflower field in 2025.
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Please keep an eye out on Atkins Farm and Shimmering Pines Farm, as they often have sunflowers and may have had better growing conditions.​
2024
​We'd like to thank everyone who came out to pick a flower this year. We were lucky to have just enough rain to plant a small patch for visitors to visit and raise much needed funds for another charity.
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This year all proceeds will be going towards CP Alliance (Cerebral Palsy Alliance). From their website - “Cerebral Palsy Alliance helps to deliver therapy, programs, equipment and research to support children, young people and adults living with cerebral palsy”. As a result of your donations we were able to raise just over $4,500 for CP Alliance.
Where It Started
In 2022 the Schusters, owners of The Barns of Freeling, planted a trial crop of sunflowers as a photogenic backdrop for the Function Centre. When the crop took and bloomed the family wanted to ensure they wouldn't go to waste so they opened the gates offering the flowers for a gold coin donation to HeartKids SA.
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The result of the generous gesture, was a donation of more than $15,000 two weeks later.
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In 2023 the family again opened the gates to aid charity. This time, all funds raised have been donated to KCNT1 Epilepsy Foundation- Hope is on the Horizon.
KCNT1 related epilepsy is an ULTRA RARE, infant onset seizure disorder caused by mutations of the KCNT1 gene. The donation will be made in memory of Elijah Heutling, the son of a local couple who unfortunately passed away recently at the age of 4.
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As a result of the generous donations in 2023, a donation of $10,100 was made to the KCNT1 Epilepsy Foundation.
