In 2015, Mr Slade was diagnosed with stage four neck and throat cancer, and thanks to medical research, he is now fit and healthy again. Mr Slade was a firefighting helicopter pilot, but when he became sick he came home to the family lucerne farm, Hunter River Hay.

In 2020, Mr Slade's childhood friend Jodie sadly passed away from cancer, and Mr Slade was moved by her funeral service which was decorated with sunflowers, her favourite flower.

He felt compelled to do something to give back, and this is when he and his now-wife, Kirsten, created Hunter Valley Sunflowers.

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Mr Slade said the best thing about running the patch day-to-day is seeing people happy.

"For us, it's the ability to give people to come and walk through the sunflowers, pick their own sunflowers, and see their smiles," he said.

"Everyone's happy, you don't get grumpy people," Mrs Slade said.

The first sunflower patch bloomed in March, 2021, and Hunter Valley Sunflowers have raised $20,000 since by donating 20 per cent of bookings to Cancer Council.

The Slades said they are so glad to be able to help fund cancer research.

"Part of our philosophy is, if someone a long time ago didn't do research they may not have had the technology to save me, that's how we think about it," Mr Slade said.

"Everyone who comes in is happy, and our staff say the same, that they love coming because everyone is happy," Mrs Slade said.

"It's an outlet for people that have lost loved ones to cancer or are going through cancer, they come in and they feel a release.

"I get goosebumps every time something like that happens, it's a real emotional thing for us." Mr Slade is a born and bred local, and attended Maitland Boys High just before it turned into Maitland High School.

The pair met while he was based in Mrs Slade's home town in Victoria.

Lovers of the great outdoors, the farming life suits them well, and in their spare moments they love to get out and go camping.

"We like the rural aspect, the river, the Barrington tops, the bushland, especially for camping," Mr Slade said.

"The beaches are close by, everything's here. We've both travelled a lot but we like being here."

Mrs Slade said she has certainly learnt a lot since moving to Largs.

"I've never been in farming, so moving here I got to learn how to drive a tractor and make hay," she said.

The sunflower patch is a whole-family effort, with Mr Slade's father helping with the land side of things, and his mother helping run admissions.

The Slades have four children between them - Ryan, Dylan, Tianna and Jessica, who they are very proud of (and keep them busy).

The flowers typically bloom from Christmas until May, as they don't like the cold. Depending on the flowers, this weekend (May 7 to 8) could be Hunter Valley Sunflowers' last weekend open for the season.

Check their Facebook page for details.

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