Monday 1 August 2022

Sunflower Surprise 🌻


This has been the first year that I can remember in which I haven't had any success with my sunflower seeds. Naturally, I was disappointed. They are my favourite flower, after all. So, you can imagine my surprise when I looked out of the window the other day to see this beauty had appeared, in amongst all the wildflowers. I can only assume it grew from a seed which fell from the bird feeder nearby.
A happy surprise! 🌻 🌻 🌻 

J. X

48 comments:

  1. What a beautiful sun shiny way to start the week . Life is full of surprises and sometimes they can be just as lovely as your sunflower.Thank you for sharing x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think the birds ate all the ones I planted and so I have noneπŸ₯²Catriona

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mine didn't grow at all! I think the seeds were old. X

      Delete
  3. I love sunflowers but they can be surprisingly difficult to grow and tend can't they?
    This year I grew some that were supposed to be a dwarf variety, they've turned out nearly as tall as the regular sort, have needed loads of tying up and one of the 3 got completely eaten by slugs/snails very early on - well, there's always next year!
    Alison in Wales x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never struggled to grow them before, but I think the seeds were old. I will just sow even more next year :)

      Delete
  4. That's beautiful! If it makes you feel any better, I tried earier in the year and germination was rubbish so I do not have any, not even a bird-sown gift like yours. 🌻

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It makes me smile each time I see it through the window. X

      Delete
  5. Hooooooray!!!!!!

    πŸ°πŸ“πŸ°πŸ“πŸ°

    ReplyDelete
  6. ...and isn't it so gorgeous too, what a lovely surprise for you and Lily x.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It looks so lovely, especially in the sunshine. X

      Delete
  7. What a spectacular sunflower - their faces bring such joy! What a lovely gift from the garden xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love sunflowers and am a tad envious. My garden is too exposed to wind to contemplate them. Oddly a friend gave me one in a pot when I was in Glasgow earlier in the year. It has one flower and some buds and is a miniature (I assume as it's only a couple of feet high). It's entirely different to any other sunflower I've seen. It's been in flower for several weeks already and is showing no signs of departing this earth soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your potted sunflower sounds like the perfect solution. Could you perhaps grow a dwarf variety outdoors? X

      Delete
  9. Yay, volunteer surprise flowers are the best!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, that's such a beautiful flower! Looks like the garden realized you hadn't planted any sunflowers, this year, and decided to surprise you! :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a wonderful surprise!!! And so beautiful!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is the kind of surprise I like. X

      Delete
  12. I had a similar surprise this year - about a dozen sunflowers growing around my composter, probably spread by the animals feasting on last year's crop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm definitely going to sow some more next year. X

      Delete
  13. My favourite flower too, in Italy, in the UK it’s sweet peas. Self seeded flowers are always the best. Jennyff www.mylifeinflipflops.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jenny. I remember seeing a field full of sunflowers when I was in France one summer. It looked beautiful. For some reason I didn't grow any sweet peas this year. X

      Delete
  14. Yay! I've got three so far and they must be a dwarf variety, they only reach my knees! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a lovely surprise. Now I wish I'd planted some this year. They really are cheerful beauties aren't they. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are my favourites. I will definitely sow some next year. X

      Delete
  16. It looks beautiful, what a lovely surprise :)

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't even noticed it growing until it flowered. X

      Delete
  17. What beauty!!! I love Sunflowers!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a gorgeous surprise indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I've had years when the slugs have munched their way through every one of my sunflower seedlings and I've been left without, and I've also had years when the birds have done me a favour and sowed some for me. A happy surprise. I do love sunflowers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are such a lovely flower. And mine is still standing, even after the recent windy weather. Xx

      Delete
  20. A lovely surprise indeed. Sunflowers are my favourite summer flowers as well. I have yet to successfully grow one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always thought they were quite easy to grow - until this year! X

      Delete
  21. How sweet. I have about twenty of them that sprung up in front of my fence. They are lovely, and attract the gold finches. I love their songs. Glad you at least got one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They must look so beautiful all in a row. I will definitely be treating myself to a new packet of seeds next year. Xx

      Delete
  22. Well that's the best kind of surprise isn't it! Despite gardening books harping on about how easy sunflowers are to grow, every year I sow at least twenty and am lucky to have one or two that survive at the end of it. Those blummin' mutant molluscs! :0 :) x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully I will have better luck if I buy some new seeds next year. X

      Delete