They start as a small seed...you know, the kind in a shell with stripes that you force open with your teeth. I walked through the garden with my three packets, deciding where to plant them.
I’d pick one up, wish it luck, and push it into the ground, repeating the process again and again until they were all gone. Each day, I walked through the garden to see what was happening, and lo and behold, little sprouts emerged. Some of them grew faster, and others slower. There were 3 different species I’d planted.
I went around the garden counting. How many sunflowers were there? As summer unfolds, the sunflowers are unmistakable. First, I had to search to find them, but at latest count, there are approximately 35 growing throughout the garden. Some are very tall.
Sunflowers are cute...even before they have the flower part. The leaves are growing very lush and bushy at the top, and wherever the sun is, that’s where the leaves point.
Last night, I couldn’t sleep. There was a full moon, and when I walked into the living room the backyard was flooded with light. The sunflowers were all reaching out in the direction of the moon, just like they do to the sun. So, they aren’t really sunflowers. Nor moon flowers. They are Light Flowers, and they soak up all that solar/lunar energy to bear seeds that can be eaten and replanted, creating more and more and more.
Sunflowers ...amazing plants.
From Seasons of the Soul print edition, Summer 2003