Sunflowers - A Photo Gallery of Different Kinds of Sunflowers

Sunflowers make me so happy! As a flower lover in general, its hard for me to choose an absolute favorite flower. Sunflowers are near the top of the list though for sure. They seem to bring so much joy, so much personality to a garden.

Did you know that sunflowers are native to the Americas? They may have originated from Central America. In ancient Central American cultures, the sunflower was venerated and highly honored as a symbol of sun gods and found throughout their artwork as such.

Sunflower Seeds - A Great Snack!

Not only are sunflowers a beautiful flower but they are also used for food. You can eat the seeds of the sunflower and cooking oil can also be made from the sunflower's seeds. They are not just a treat for humans, but birds of course absolutely love them, never mind the squirrels and more!

One of my most favorite treats are a caramel covered sunflower seed type of candy. It's marvelous! One can find chocolate covered sunflower seeds as well as a gourmet candy treat. I have seen them come in many colors.

Sunflowers grow best in full sunlight, and don't really require too much attention to get a start and keep on growing. They love to face the sun, and if you have ever grown one in a pot, and had to move it, you can see it turn back toward the direction of the main source of sunshine!

Planting Sunflowers

You can purchase sunflowers already growing, but you can't beat the fun of growing some yourself, from seed. Look for the mammoth sunflower seeds if you are going for bigger ones. Just remember to stake your flower, as they can take a beating in a big storm or wind, when their flowers start to really grow big.

Just yesterday, I drove by the cutest garden near where I live. I saw they had their sunflowers growing where wildlife couldn't get to them. I thought that was pretty smart, and beats the disappointment of waiting so long for a beautiful flower, only to find the animals came and wanted to gobble up the not yet ready seeds.

One time, I was short on time, and just pushed a few into the dirt with my thumb, and kept them watered after that. Its like a miracle growing in your garden.

Once, I grew many different kinds of sunflowers one summer, and that was great fun. I hope to plant one of those gardens again! If you have never grown sunflowers, I hope you will consider doing so one day. Its very rewarding, and doesn't cost hardly anything. What joy they bring as well!

Sunflowers as an Inspiration

Sunflowers are very popular in art. One of Vincent Van Gogh's most famous paintings was about sunflowers. There are also some other very interesting things about sunflowers. The sunflower's face is a cluster of much smaller flower petals. The clusters are oddly and interestingly arranged in a unique way. The small clusters of flowers on the face of the sunflower are arranged or in seemingly mathematical patterns. The patterns seem to be similar to golden ratios or Fibonacci sequences. I find that very curious that a beautiful flower such as the sunflower also has some mathematical significance or some kind of fractal that is intrinsic in its growth. For me, that makes the sunflower not only a beautiful flower and plant but also sort of mysterious in its own way!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_Willem_van_Gogh_127.jpg

Photos

These photos in this photo gallery, apart from Van Gogh's art of course, are pictures I have taken over time of sunflowers in some of the different places I have seen and enjoyed them. I hope you enjoyed this mini sunflower tour of a not so "mini" flower!

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