Watching sunflowers grow

December

January

I planted some sunflowers in front of the garage as a 'Blickfang' (eye-catcher) this spring and they have grown beyond my expectations.  When I went to Hobart in November they were still a few inches tall. On my return after four days, they had doubled in size. It has been a pleasure to watch them grow tall then even taller. Then they flowered and their yellow disk flowers followed the sun as it passed overhead.
 

Setting seed

Now they grow bulbous, more bulbous every day. You can almost see the seeds growing inside them.   The flowers are too heavy to follow the sun now, looking east all day instead.

If you ever want to observe flowers through their stages, plant them in front of your breakfast window.

One week on (16 January) seeds are setting and the flowers bow their weighty heads.  Then the cockatoos discover them ...

Cockatoos discover sunflowers

The seeds are yet unripe but the cockies don't care and would just destroy the plants then leave.  So I chase them off and bag the heads.

to be continued ... 

Bagged sunflower heads

Real flowers

What is it about fresh flowers that is so captivating? Some artificial flowers are so realistic nowadays that you have to touch them to see if they are real but if they are artificial there is always a sense of disappointment rather than admiration for the copy. Perhaps living things are especially attuned to other living thing?

Sunflowers in Cafe

You could tell at first glance that these sunflowers in a Hamburg cafe were real.That was probably part of the attraction of the cafe. Real flowers, real coffee.

Sunflowers from the Mayor of Maribor

Maribor. It is nice to arrive in a town that feels familiar. Nothing has changed since last year, except the hostel has become much busier... all credit to June from England whose home it is.
Yesterday sunflowers were being given to the passers by. A present from the major of Maribor I was told.