Once again we have a field of Sunflowers in front of the house. What could be more Summery than big waving heads of sunshine, far into the distance.
The heads are swelling, and the plants are looking past their best, it probably won't be long before they are ready to be harvested.
Years ago we used to think of Van Gogh or Provence as being intrinsically linked with Sunflowers, but now, with Global Warming, they seem to be grown everywhere.
At local markets we see women leaving with arms-full of Sunflowers to decorate their homes. They are a very welcoming flower in the house.
There was an era (post Peter Mayle) when Sunflowers were on mugs, tablecloths, teapots, towels, and T Shirts; in fact on almost anything. Those days have now gone, but the Sunflower remains an important symbol of Summer.
At holiday second-homes, where ladies' straw hats and long diaphanous dresses are de rigueur, there will always be huge vases filled with freshly cut Sunflowers; they are as important as the chilled glass of Rosé.
They are such good value flowers but I don't mean they are cheap, not here anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe main value is in their beauty, but they don't last too long.
DeleteI love sunflowers. They are so cheery and summery. We have a few gardens here where they're grown but there are acres of them in northern Greece. Lovely
ReplyDeleteNo shortage of them here, but I think their lives are now limited. Harvest awaits them.
DeleteI was given a sunflower seed in a paper cup of soil at a riverside festival about 7 years ago.I re potted it and it grew into a huge sunflower.I kept the seeds when it died and have re grown them every year since.Not all have been a success,lol,but at the minute I do have 5 thick stemmed beauties growing in pots in my garden.I love them!xx
ReplyDeleteThey should go on forever... keep a few seeds every year.
DeleteNot much luck with them up here. We need more sun!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised, I thought you were in the Gulf Stream.
DeleteWe may have a mild clinate generally but not enough daily sunshine - despite the recent freak heatwave.
DeleteI love watching the bees on them...and sharing the seeds with the birds...plenty for all!
ReplyDeleteWe have about a dozen nearby hives that were brought in specially. The Bees love them.
DeleteLike JayCee I think we are a bit far North for them - they are quite rare in gardens around me.
ReplyDeleteI did recently see a field of sunflowers on TV in Yorkshire. The stems looked a bit 'poorly', but the flowers were OK.
DeleteThe tall ones used to get knocked about by wind in our UK garden. We much preferred, for the garden the shorter ones with multiple flowers on them (seeds are too small to eat though). Someone spread a few seeds in the public waste ground in front of our apartment here in Piraeus, and we've found that with regular water they flower, seed, grow, flower, seed etc three times in a summer. That really is good value.
ReplyDeletePeople in the UK used to have competitions for the tallest Sunflowers; some of them grew to huge heights. I think it was mostly children who'd enter the competitions.
DeleteMy favourite flower. My daughters have still not forgiven me for making them pose for photos in the middle of a sunflower field.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine!
DeleteSunflowers always remind me of driving through France …. Fields and fields of them, their happy faces all pointing to the sun. XXXX
ReplyDeleteThey do have a way of making us feel happy. Lovely flowers.
DeleteIs a "diaphanous" dress one that you can see through? I rather like that kind of dress though I never wear one myself.
ReplyDeleteAs worn by the more discerning middle class ladies at their second homes in Tuscany, Provence, and Melton Mowbray.
DeleteA couple of sunflowers in a tall, slim, clear glass vase are beautiful. A true summer time favorite.
ReplyDeleteI agree. We have a few in a jar at the moment; they won't last much longer.
DeleteI remember seeing Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in a movie entitled, Sunflower (think around 1968). Had some gorgeous scenes of sunflowers in it. The title music--fitting for the theme--is quite hauntingly lovely. Always think of that music when I see a field of sunflowers.
ReplyDeleteShe was a wonderful actress; an Empress amongst women. And still going strong.
Delete