MATTAPOISETT — Some men give their loved ones flowers or chocolates for Valentine’s Day.

Bruce Rocha Sr. of Mattapoisett has bigger plans.

After years of planning and painstaking mowing, he has created a heart shape in a field he owns on Driscoll Lane. 

And the heart shape is large enough to be seen from the air. Rocha smiles as he imagines someone searching out Google images to learn about the town and finding a heart-shaped image not far from the heart of Mattapoisett.

“How cool,’’ he said. “You can’t miss it.’’

He dedicated the heart to his wife of 62 years, Bette-Jean Rocha, “for putting up with me.’’

But the heart also serves as a valentine to his beloved town, where his grandparents settled after arriving from Portugal and which has subsequently served as home for the generations that followed. 

The town, he pointed out, has provided his family a good life. He and his family own Fisher & Rocha, building contractors and developers. 

“We’ve been successful in business because of the people of Mattapoisett,’’ he said. “We love the community, and the community has been good to us.’’

The heart he has created, like the happiest of hearts, is filled —  in this case, with Christmas trees.

In 1968, Rocha and Fisher purchased 13 acres of land on Driscoll Lane. They developed ten of the acres. 

The remaining three acres were set aside for farming. 

Rocha enjoyed farming, “so I thought it would be more fun to farm it than to develop it.’’ Farming was a “hobby’’ and not a serious undertaking.

Over the years, Rocha has raised sheep, goats and cattle on the land. 

About three years ago, he gave up farming animals and decided instead to grow Christmas trees. 

That inspired an idea: Why not grow the trees along the shape of a heart?

Owning a field means frequent mowing, he knew. So why not put that effort into creating a shape that has both style and meaning?

The process took time. He created designs to make sure the shape was maintained, following the patterns as he mowed and going back to fix any flaws.

While he was carefully creating the design, he kept his efforts a mystery. “The neighbors were kind of curious,’’ he said with a laugh. “They’d see me mowing and mowing. They were kind of watching me and wondering what I was doing.’’

“I’d say, It’s a surprise, see if you can figure it out.’’

Now, the design is clearly visible from overhead and can be seen from the road if you look carefully.

Fittingly, he and Bette-Jean worked together to plant the first crop of Christmas trees in the center of the heart. 

They have a process: “I put in the spade, she puts the roots in, then I stomp it in.’’

Then each year for seven years, more trees will be planted in rings moving outward to fit the heart silhouette. The heart will accommodate 700 trees.

Seven years in, the original trees will be ready to cut and sell and the process will start again.

He hopes that his grandson, Tyler Rocha, who will then be 18, will be willing to harvest and sell the trees to make some “gas money.’’

He also wants him to find a message in the effort.  

“I hope this serves as a lesson to him that you reap what you sow,’’ he said of Tyler’s involvement.

Bette-Jean is modest about being honored with the heart. But she appreciates the valentine to Mattapoisett.

“It’s just a nice community,’’ she said.