A Mammoth in the Garden
In June of last year, I noticed a small, bristly plant growing towards the back of my garden plot. I couldn't tell what it was. I thought it felt a little bit like borage, so I left it to grow. By the time I returned three weeks later, it had already grown well over my head!
I checked the dates between these two photos. Only FOUR weeks later and it quadrupled in height! To be fair, the summer this happened was one where I wasn't spending as much time in the garden as I'd have liked to. See what happens when I'm not there to regularly check in on things?!
At this point I knew there was no going back. But I asked myself, where did this come from? I certainly didn't plant this. Which silly bird accidentally lost it's snack when it tried to eat a sunflower seed over the garden?
Fast-forward another four weeks and the mammoth sunflower has not just surpassed everyone I've ever known in height, it also now hangs it's massive drooping face down towards the ground. When I drive past the garden on my way to work and glimpse at it, I think there's a man standing in the garden!
As fall began settling in, I noticed bird attempting to eat the sunflower seeds but could only reach those on the perimeter of the seed head. I made the decision to share the harvest with everybody, so I lopped the head off and placed it on the ground.
It pleased me to think about how this giant unexpected flower was going to feed the birds who delight me so much while I'm gardening. And there were a LOT of seeds from that single head - each seed practically the size of a quarter.
About six months later, in March, you can hardly see what's left of the plant. The stalk dried out to a perfectly shaped perch and the head disintegrated (or was digested) into a pile of empty sunflower shells.
