Monday, June 18, 2012

The sunflower has a visitor

Common sunflowers, with edible seeds, grow about six feet within the first three weeks, and reach maturity in 85 days.  Our sunflower seed surely was left behind by a squirrel scurrying away from the bird feeder next door.  As close to grade A as that bird feed mix may have been, we can bet the seed the squirrel let fall into the crack did not come from Burpee.

Whatever its humble origins, it’s growing as fast as it can, busting up good township concrete as quickly as it can.  When I noticed the trouble the super took to save it from the Memorial Day parade, it was 31.5 inches.

When the parade went through, the sunflower was up to 38.5”.   

Last week, another three inches, to 41.5”

Today, up to 45.5”.   It won’t be next week, but soon it can peer through the windows and see garage activity, as well as the traffic out on the road

20 comments:

  1. That made me proper LOL when I saw it! I always wondered what happened to Tinker. :)

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  2. I'm glad Tinkerbell is keeping guard over it...it's best to be on the lookout for pirates and crocodiles.
    Jane x

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  3. I have to plan to head up there soon!!!! THIS I gotta see!

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  4. Birds deposited seeds all over our flower garden last year and we have very good soil and none of the sunflowers grew as tall as this one of yours with it's adverse conditions.

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  5. "Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity."
    Og Mandino

    Tinkerbell looks very much at home with this amazing sunflower in such an unusual flower pot.

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  6. Replies
    1. That lisleman started it. I guess he read the list of comments and said it seemed as if Tinkerbell might be involved. You remember all the wishing, wishing, wishing and there was Peter Pan, back. Some friends and I kicked it around at lunch and were thinking a flat Tinkerbell might be willing to hang around all summer. Later that day, in the drugstore, I met the real Tinkerbell. I asked if she'd be willing to stop by before she went down the street to live with a little neighbor girl. Tink agreed. There you have it.

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  7. Sunflowers must be very insistent stubborn flowers! Keep us apprised of its growth! Thanks, Tink'.

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  8. Ha ha! I almost missed that!

    Is anyone watering the sunflower? It's a brave thing.

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  9. I love that your chronicling this. :-)

    Pearl

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  10. How wonderful that they protected it. It was certainly meant to be there. It's a reassurement to know we all can bloom where we are planted.

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  11. Maybe a gorilla gardener put it there on purpose? They tend to do that:) but I like the squirrel idea the best. I think you are so neat to be keeping us up to date on our virtual buddy! Thank you!

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  12. Out here in Oregon the slugs can take down a sunflower. So glad for your determined record-setting flower that the snails/slugs would have a long, hard, dry hike to get to the plant. Go sunflower!!

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  13. Wow I'm about to start ... clapping. Yes Tinkerbell will survive! Thanks Joanne

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  14. the sunflower is growing very well! Love that Tinkerbell decided to visit :)

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  15. I like the last picture with Tinkerbell visiting.
    It should flower soon?

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  16. was there a trade for a cow for some beans involved?

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