FLOWERSUN...

"I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work on the stars." (Walt Whitman 1819-1892)

 It's time to plant. Weather's behaving . Still a tad cool outside,  off and on, but so far so good, here at the north end of Vancouver Island.  This year I've planted a gazillion sunflower seeds ( well it feels like a gazillion) to see what will come up.

SUNFLOWERS are known in scientific circles as Helianthus....(Helia  is the sun, and Anthus is the flower)

I've got this haphazard way of planting . I tend to raid the bird seed bin and grab as many sunflower seeds as I can. Then I  also use packets. Stuff into the ground. Water. .Hope for the best.

My favourite is the "Velvet Queen". Dark maroon. Rich. Almost stately. This year I  grabbed  "Evening Sun", 'Red Sun", "Golden Hedge" and "Sunspot".

 So they are kind of all over the place. Not sure where they will arise.  But , it's easy to thin out the ones you don't want.

 Hopefully, by the end of August I will get sunflowers that are 8-12 feet tall. 

 They grow so fast. About 90 days to 100 days to maturity, and sometimes less, depending on the heat of the days. The experts say you should grow them in well fertilized soil , etc. I just plop them into the dirt on the hill, or at the side of the house, and they seem to come up. They DO like a lot of water and good drainage. 

Sunflowers are quite smart. They follow the sun's movement throughout the day. Known as Heliotropism. They just need eyes; might even become sentient beings.Well I guess with all those seeds growing in the flower pads, those might be considered eyes.

 The seeds are rich in oil. Good for the BIRDS. Good for everyone.

 One sunflower has been known to have upwards of maybe over 2000 seeds. By the end of the summer, I collect the heads, and leave them out to dry. Sometimes I take the seed heads apart for the birds.They tend to get a lot of earwigs.......so do it outside.

Humans snack on striped sunflower seeds.  Cats like Smokey and Spencer, tend to catch flying snacks, who like to feed on the black sunflower seeds the best.

 There are over 67 species of sunflowers, that were domesticated about 1000 B.C.

 Sunflowers appeared in Mesoamerica as far back as 2600 B.C. and were used as food, oil and the yellow pigment was utilized to paint with, for spiritual rituals.

 Sunflowers that grow in the wild have small heads and small seeds.

Whereas , the domesticated ones we   grow have huge heads and big seeds.

 Russia and the Ukraine have the sunflower as its national flower, and in the U.S. it's Kansas who owns it as the state flower.

 Some of the most beautiful sunflower paintings can be seen in the work of Vincent Van Gogh. They are lovely and simple, and bring us back to a simple time.

 "To own a bit of ground, to scratch it with a hoe, to plant seeds, and watch the renewal of life, this is the commonest delight of the race, the most satisfactory thing one can do." (Charles Dudley Warner 1829-1900)