Taranaki sunflower grower plants maize border to deter Instagram selfies

Instagram users have been breaking into Scott Andrews' Huirangi Sunflower Field to take photos. Photo/ Unsplash

RNZ

A Taranaki sunflower grower has had to take security measures of a botanical nature to deter would-be selfie-seekers.

Scott Andrews’ Huirangi Sunflower Field of 70,000 blooms is open for the public to visit, Friday to Sunday, between 10am and 3pm.

However, this year he has resorted to planting a border of maize in an attempt to stop people entering the field outside of those times without permission — often to take photos for Instagram.

“We had people jumping the fence, picking them, taking photos, flying drones over them, that kind of stuff really,” he told RNZ’s Midday Report on Tuesday.

“It is private property.”

It had been a hard start to the year for the business, with slugs demolishing the first crop they planted in November, he said.

“We re-sowed on December 1 and it’s looking good, but normally we would have been open a couple of weeks ago.”

Andrews said to keep trespassers out, he had planted a border of maize around the road edge.

“You can’t see the field now from the road, so I’m hoping it helps from people just helping themselves”.

– RNZ