I haven’t spent much time in the flowerbeds this year. They are all overgrown with Hackberry and Elm tree saplings, volunteer Bride of Barbados, and the usual plants such as Bermuda grass, dandelions and sunflowers that invade our flowerbeds. Today, I stopped to admire one of these.
The humble sunflower, a weed in the eyes of many, is Helianthus annuum – the exemplar and prototypical composite. It is a flower of florets whose golden yellow petals are actually bracts. This plant gives us sunflower oil, tasty sunflower seed snacks, and protein as well.
It is the national flower of Ukraine; I bet you already knew that. When I see the Ukrainian flag, I imagine scenes that I have seen in North Texas – fields of sunflowers beneath blue skies. I suppose that the Ukrainian agricultural heartland looks a bit like that.
Here is my Father’s Day / Juneteenth sunflower picture. In the background is a volunteer Pride of Barbados. I hope that you enjoy them.
