Another mood-lifter from commentor Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!):
One of my friends, a professional photographer of gardens, once told me that entering a photograph of back of a sunflower is a sure way to win a prize in a photography contest. So, even though I don’t enter contests I do find myself taking a lot of pictures of sunflowers.
I also have several wild-type species of the perennial persuasion in our garden and I would like to share three of my favorites to celebrate the returning of the sun.
North America is the original home for what are called the “true” sunflowers in the genus Helianthus, including the two most widely known species that are in widespread cultivation. The best known is annual sunflower of birdseed and vegetable oil fame (Helianthus annuus) whose wild ancestors were from the Western USA. The other is the Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) which is a perennial known for taking over gardens.
Today we have two “true” sunflowers and one close cousin that looks very similar and all are native to the Eastern USA.
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Here Comes the Sun (Flowers)Post + Comments (43)