Old-Fashioned Folks & Sunflowers
"As for marigolds, poppies, hollyhocks, and valorous sunflowers, we shall never have a garden without them, both for their own sake, and for the sake of old-fashioned folks, who used to love them."
~ Henry Ward Beecher
~ Henry Ward Beecher
Sunflowers from our garden...August 2011.
The extreme heat (and our frequent vacationing!) really did a number on our garden. Mostly because we were not home enough to water or harvest.
Fortunately, the extensive root system of the sunflower allows for it to flourish even in the most arid conditions.
From the northern plains of the Dakotas to the panhandle of Texas, sunflowers are an important agricultural crop.
A bit of history...
"Sunflower was a common crop among American Indian tribes throughout North America. Evidence suggests that the plant was cultivated by Indians in present-day Arizona and New Mexico about 3000 BC. Some archaeologists suggest that sunflower may have been domesticated before corn." The National Sunflower AssociationMy children were delighted by their big, beautiful heads and they have definitely added a pop of color to our garden landscape.
I suppose they appeal to the "old-fashioned folks" that we are!
Pledging to be better gardeners next year...until then...thank goodness for the local farmer's market!
Beautiful sunflowers! We didn't get around to planting ours this year and I am missing them terribly now that blooming season is here. I usually get the assorted brown/burgundy/yellow mix of seeds - they are positively gorgeous! I WILL have them back next year.
ReplyDeleteNow those are stunning sunflowers, that just made me smile.
ReplyDeleteValerie, thank you for your very sweet comment on my food blog and you made me laugh, I hadn't noticed Harvest Moon had thrown in that line until you mentioned it, that is so funny. I think I may just start doing that myself instead of changing my whole blog :)
Hugs,
Sandra
I love the sunflowers!!! And your new header is beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs and Blessings,
Sunflowers are cheery and beautiful. Mine didn't grow that tall this year, but I can see the budding on them..
ReplyDeleteLove these happy fellows!
ReplyDeleteWe may have to try these again.
Next year.
Melinda
How cheery...I love sunflowers and even did a scrapbook page on them with a Scripture verse on it a while back! Happy August. Thanks for visiting my blog~
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! We normally have lots of them growing here in the village, it´s seeds that the birds has spread from the bird feeders but I can´t find any at all this year.
ReplyDeleteBut I do have two different perennial ones in my garden and one of them flowers now and the other one has buds :-) Weeds really but I wouldn´t want to be without them :-) I´ll post photographs in todays post.
Have a great day!
Christer.