Sunflowers Are the Latest Casualty of Selfie Culture

Hordes of people looking to take photos at a sunflower farm have ruined the fun for everyone, proving not even flowers are safe from our collective narcissism. On Saturday, July 28, Bogle Seeds in Millgrove, Ontario, shuttered its photo opportunities after social media virality sparked the ascension of thousands of people on the farm.

Cars started pulling up to the farm at 5:45 AM on that fateful day, the Globe and Mail reports. One of the sunflower farmers, Barry Bogle, reportedly ended up calling police while the crowd exponentially grew. Cops later estimated that 7,000 cars had encroached on and near the property, stretching kilometres away.

The crowd was unusually large and overwhelming for the farm, which was charging $7.50 per adult for photography. Due to the unmanageable number of photo seekers, some were reportedly entering the fields without paying the aforementioned fee.

“I can only describe it as like a zombie apocalypse,” Brad Bogle, sunflower farmer and Barry’s son, told the Globe and Mail.

“Everyone was laughing and having fun,” Barry said, “then all of Toronto showed up.”

By the early afternoon on Saturday, police had the farm shut it down.

The farm was reportedly still having to turn cars away as of Tuesday. They’ve closed their sunflower fields to public photography for the season, which contain over a million flowers, and have posted “NO TRESPASSING” signs on the property.

A scrolling banner on Bogle Seeds’ website now reads: “NOTICE…ALL PHOTOGRAPHY OF SUNFLOWERS ON THE FARM ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THE SEASON!”

“Unfortunately, with the POLICE involved, we have had to close the photo opportunities due to the traffic jam which occurred on Saturday July 28!” a message on the site’s homepage declares.

A top post on Instagram may have been one of the sources of the apocalyptic stream of people that flocked to the farm. Bogle Seeds has also been featured by local blogs in the past, including BlogTO and Narcity. The farm was on Narcity two months ago in a listicle called “15 Surprise Dates In Ontario To Take Your S/O On This Summer.”

“In mid-July for about 2 weeks Bogle Seeds Farm completely transforms into a yellow sunflower wonderland. This surprise date is sure to put a smile on your bae's face,” the article read. “The giant farm sees guests from around the province every year, this summer you have to check out this massive sunflower farm with your love.”

Though the farm is now prohibiting photo ops, its website says it’s still open for bird seed and other product sales during regular hours.

Next time you think of following that viral social media dragon and seek out a photo to fill your feed, just remember: Everything you love could one day be ruined.

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