Before the hot weather arrived in my home town in Arizona, I planted over 100 sunflower seeds in my backyard.  I had never really planted much before from seeds.  The seed packets were of several different varieties.

Some of the information on the packages read that the seeds would product huge yellow headed sunflowers, and others read they would be in colors of reds, oranges, and white.  The seed packages were not planted all at once.  I planted some one week and then another, and then waited longer to plant the last packet of seeds so that I would have flowers through out the summer months.

Little did I know that they would grow and grow . . . some into huge sunflowers that I wouldn't be able to even touch and others, they were small and delicate with petals with colors of creams and warm reds that were not taller than two feet high.

Just in case, I bought a scarecrow so that the seeds that I planted wouldn't be eaten.  One weekend, the weather brought a huge dust storm with 50 mph winds that didn't even damage the plants or the scarecrow, which was a surprise to me.

When the first sunflower bloomed, I couldn't wait to cut it and place it in a vase inside my home to enjoy.  Eventually, I cut the giant flowers for a few nights and gave them to my neighbors to enjoy.

When I studied the plants closer, I noticed that many honey bees and ants were enjoying the flowers as much as I was enjoying them.  At that point, I decided to cut less and let nature enjoy them, too.

Many years ago, I wrote a poem about sunflowers when a friend of mine, Rachel, gave me some sunflowers one summer as a gift.  Since then, I've wanted to plant my own . . . and this year, I did and am glad that I did.

Who would have thought that seeds, good soil, water, and loving care would produce such a glorious sight?

Enjoy the poem . . .

Portrait of Rachel’s Sunflowers ©

One hundred seeds scattered

one by one, emerge from sleep

lift faces, yellow  blossoms,

and paint themselves against

the sapphire sky—The ancient

star caresses. The earth provides,

while creatures build, among

the stalks, and shadows crawl

the antique bronze sundial.

Blooms powder their saffron faces

with the warm breeze, bow

heads, majestic, crested and

burst forth—a thousand seeds.