Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do. (Helen Keller)
Sunflower are happy flowers. Thank you Emma for bringing some sunshine into our home.
Mum normally wouldn’t think of buying sunflowers – partly because she doesn’t have a vase big enough for them. So when Emma gave her a bunch of these happy flowers, I think it gave her a chance to appreciate it. It peaked her interest to find out more about them.
Some interesting facts from GoodHousekeeping:
- Each sunflower is actually thousands of little flowers. As many as 2,000 can make up a bloom.
- They should be harvested in the morning, not the afternoon. Or they will wilt.
- They are native to the Americas and domesticated around 1000 BC.
- A dried sunflower makes a unique bird feeder.
- Sunflowers are planted to help soak up solar radiation. Millions were planted after the devastating tsunami destroyed reactors in the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan
- The tallest sunflower on record was over 30ft tall
- The French word for sunflower is ‘tournedos’ which means turn with the sun …
Spread seeds of happiness.
Rise, shine and hold your head up high.
At dawn, whole fields of sunflowers stand at attention, all facing east, and begin their romance with the rising sun. As that special star appears to move across the sky, young flowers follow its light, looking up, then over and westward, catching one final glance as the sun disappears over the horizon.
At night, in its absence, the sunflowers face east again, anticipating the sun’s return.
They do this until they get old, when they stop moving. Then, always facing east, the old flowers await visits from insects that will spread their pollen and make new sunflowers. Those flowers too, will follow the sun. (The New York Times)
May’s comment: We did find vase to put them in – and think they may have become a favourite.
Sunflowers bloom in the UK around August-September. There are five listed PYO sunflower farms in England but Covid-19 might have affected their accessibility.
