In Bloom Today: Sunflower

Friday, August 11, 2006

Back in June, I wrote about the sunflower that volunteered to grow where I thought I had planted a zucchini seed. I decided that it would be best to move that sunflower elsewhere -- as in, outside of my plot -- not because I don't like sunflowers (they are one of my favorite flowers), but because I thought it would take up too much space and cast too much shade on the other plants.


The sunflower, I thought, would make a perfect candidate for my first foray into guerilla gardening. I had this grand scheme of transporting it to another place, in the dim light of dusk, to beautify a spot in front of a fence that surrounds a set of tennis courts nearby.

But the days passed and I always had an excuse for not moving that sunflower: "I'm too tired." "It's getting dark." "There are too many people here who would disapprove of me planting my own stuff in the public domain." "Maybe I'll do it tomorrow." I dragged my feet for so long and then, once the plant started getting buds, I didn't have the heart to disturb it.


So here we are today, August 11, and you can see that I still have that sunflower in my plot. It turned out to be a real beauty, though, and it really wasn't a troublemaker after all. Things grew around it and under it, and we all managed to get along just fine. The birds are making regular visits to the flowers now, and I enjoy watching them feast on the seeds.


In retrospect, I'm glad I just let that sunflower grow where it wanted to grow. As much as I try to plan everything in the garden -- putting things in particular places or groupings -- it is sometimes the unexpected things that turn out to be the most enjoyable.