Thursday 11 August 2011

Sunshine shouts...

I hardly bought a single plant from the garden centre this year, sprinkling seed here and there instead and hoping that something would grow. I didn't plant any sunflowers in the back borders though.

But there they are, half a dozen of them standing proud amidst the general riot of courgette leaves and sweet peas. Proud and yellow and they seem to be shouting: 'Look at us. We made it.'

Yes, the bird seed I put out for the birds in my back yard last spring has paid dividends. Whilst we hardly had a single bird visit the feeder some seed must have somehow escaped, either wind or wood pigeon, and seeded itself in the border beneath. Here’s the result, a happy burst of sunshine from nowhere like an illustration of the sun out of a children’s book.

I have no idea what variety this is, but I really love its wavy petals. Maybe next year I'll separate out the different seeds in the mix and pot them up just to see what grows.

Well, it'll give me something to do and if I get any wheat or barley at least I'll have something to eat.

5 comments:

  1. Grateful that it's back to business as usual after the recent distractions.

    I once read a biography (I can't remember whose) which told of someone gathering together a group of his friend to go around their town planting random flower seeds in any gaps and cracks they could find so that in the spring, their concrete jungle might be transformed into something more beautiful.

    Maybe that's just what the birds are doing. M.

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  2. Michelle Haendl commented on Facebook:
    Beautiful variation. Yes, they do stand tall and proud. One of the good things about France was the fields upon fields of sunflowers in late summer....

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  3. Liz Shore on Facebook:
    What a beautiful surprise :)

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  4. I wish I could do more gardening for free, seems I spend £50 every time I visit a garden centre.

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  5. Just let it grow. Mix it up a little. It'll make you happy if you're not too precious.

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