INSPIRATION
Being on "lockdown" for so much of 2020 gave me a lot of time to think... and sometimes those thoughts led to difficult decisions and long-overdue actions. Growing these flowers was my therapy, my meditation, and my solace.
I never intended to fall in love with gardening. It wasn't something I did growing up. As an adult it always seemed to be an "extra" in a life I had filled up with work, obligations, and a variety of distractions. A garden meant there was time to not just take a break, but to give time to creating something beautiful - and temporary - just for fun. Fun is not something I'm skilled at, I thank the universe for Peter because he makes our lives fun. But on my own I'm often at a loss... that is until these beauties arrived, and I've been hooked ever since.
Last year we probably had 25-30 flowers grace our container garden. Fast forward 2 years and its too challenging to count. New flowers every day... coming and going.
The #SunflowerProject2021 yielded more than 700 flowers of varying sizes between spring and mid-fall (I gave up counting in August). For 2022 I decided not to count at all, and just to nurture them.
Want to see more, please visit the 2021 collection, and the ever growing 2022 collection! Our next goal is to plant a field, but that's a few years off.
Ah Sunflower! Weary of time,
Who counteth the step of the sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the travelers journey is done;
Where the youth pined away with desire
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my sunflower wishes to go.
-William Blake
The Most incredible thing about watching the flowers come up was the unexpected variety. You can see 5 flower types in this capsule shot.
The red sunflowers came in bushes rather than a stem to each flower/cluster. You can see 2 on the edges of this photo, while one giant flower nests among the many smaller ones.
Watching these flowers at different stages has been engrossing. I can't tell you how many photos of each, at their various stages I have, but my phone wants me to purge some!
This gorgeous sunflower with the flame-like petals was the most surprising. The colors are so rich and fierce!
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She is Life Itself, wild & free.
Wonderfully Chaotic.
A perfectly put together mess.