Ten feet tall and rising. Every morning for two months we’ve watched the evolution of these magical plants, from 1/2” seeds to the monsters you see here. I can practically see these giant sun faces move from one inch to the next. Let’s see — from a 1/2” inch seed to 120” high. My math skills are too rusty to calculate the growth rate, so all I can say is “WOW”.
Sunflowers lift my spirits every single time I look at them, especially if it’s the first thing I see when I open the blinds in the morning. It’s a vision that starts my day with a nice, positive feel. I could add laughter to the mix if only I could see the vision that my friend, Dan Pedersen, provided in his recent blog post.
As these flowers mature to their fullest, hundreds of sunflower seeds develop in the center until the growing weight sends the face slowly sagging toward the ground. Our delight will be over, but think how happy and relieved the birds and squirrels will be when the visual display is finally over and these kind humans set the heads out face up, buffet-style.
My idea was to plant an obvious “Howdy, neighbor” to all that pass. Between dog walking, school bus getting and work commuting, everyone that lives in our three-block neighborhood has to pass our house. Today happens to be the first day of school, and I’m sitting on the porch watching all the smiles go by. In a neighborhood where most folks are going about their busy lives, providing them with a smile break is giving me great pleasure. I have done my job well! $2.29 for a seed packet of joy.