Whenever I see sunflowers, smiles, sunshine, and joy follow
Mammoth sunflowers earn top honors as my favorite variety. The garden drama queen grows up to a foot with 10- to-12 inch flowers. Just seeing those rich yellow petals wrapped around its burnt-almond orb sparks images of fairies hiding in the leaves and peeking out from the flowers.
Or maybe it’s the simplicity of the growing process like Jack’s magic beans — plant and water. Or the near human-like quality of wanting to feel the sun on its face. We know the wonderful sensation of such warmth. Apparently, so do sunflowers.
In botany, a sunflower is described as heliotropic — which means the flower turns toward the sun as it moves from east to west during the day. This behavior happens during the budding stage. Once the sunflower blooms it stops this behavior. Then it just stands tall and soaks in the day.
The sunflower is nature’s welcome mat for butterflies, bees, birds, and small mammals in my neighborhood. Some intoxicated by the pollen, others by the seeds. The stalks are even used for cattle feed, although that sure doesn’t apply to me.
Oh, and don’t forget us humans. We love to munch on the seeds. They’re Mother Nature’s multi-vitamin with thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin B6, C, and E. That’s a handful of health right there.
