Sunday, July 29, 2018

30 Days of Summer - Post #16 - Sunflowers

It doesn't matter to me if they're the native ones that grow out on the prairie...

Native Sunflowers Growing On The Tall-grass Prairie
...the wild ones that grow along the roadways...

Sunflowers Along A Gravel Road
...or the giant tame ones that grow in my own backyard...

Giant Sunflower Growing Outside Our Backdoor

I love sunflowers! 💗 🌻💗

My mother loved sunflowers, too. Her canisters featured sunflowers on them and, to this day, they stand sentinel overlooking the kitchen that was once hers and now is mine.

My Mother's Sunflower Canisters
My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh. He, of course, is notorious for his paintings of sunflowers. This print hangs in my office (a.k.a "the Van Gogh room")...

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh
Today marks the 128th anniversary of Vincent Van Gogh's death. This picture of his grave was taken back in 2015. 

July 29, 2015 - On the 125th anniversary of Vincent’s death, Willem van Gogh
and Machteld van Laer, descendants of Van Gogh’s brother, laid sunflowers
and yellow dahlias on the painter’s grave in Auvers-sur-Oise. 

Birds and insects love sunflowers, too, as do many other species of wildlife and, of course, they're grown commercially for birdseed and human consumption.

In preparing for an upcoming program on sunflowers at work I learned, yesterday, that there are 70 species of sunflowers and, all but three of them which grow in South America, are native to North America. 

To me, nothing says "summer" like a sunflower! Their bright, cheery petals painted yellow like the sun...their faces dark and brown...as if tanned by the same. 🌻

What kind of sunflowers grow where you live? And what is your favorite summer flower?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

Recent and related posts that you might enjoy reading...


30 Days of Summer - Post # 15 - Fireflies











3 comments:

  1. One of my favorite summer flowers as well! The last few times I attempted to plant them snails ate them before I had any flowers. My plan for next summer (idea stolen from a friend) is to plant them in pots.

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    1. Sounds like a great plan, Jean! I wish you well with it. When we lived in Blue Springs I always had the mammoth sunflowers growing all the way around the edge of our deck. They were so pretty!

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  2. Would love to forever get updated great site!

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