Sunflowers and Sunshine

“I want to be like a sunflower; so that even on the darkest days I will stand tall and find the sunlight.”

~anonymous

The sunflower blooms at the height of summer. It marks a turning of the season where you can feel the warmth of the sun changing. Mornings are cooler now and require an extra layer of clothing. More orange and burnt sienna hues are noted throughout the landscape. While the daylight has been lessening since the Summer Solstice, you can actually notice how the days are shortened.

Sunflowers are native to North America. Their indigenous people used them for food, medicine, dye, and oil. A sunflower is not just a singular blooming head but instead is made up of thousands of tiny flowers! “Ray florets” are the petals surrounding the “disc florets,” the brown center of the sunflower where the seeds develop.

In their early stages of growth, sunflowers practice Heliotropism. Their flower buds and blossoms face eat and follow the sun as the earth orbits it. However, as the flower grows, the head of the plant becomes heavier, and the blossom will generally stay facing east.

A long life and lasting happiness are represented by the sunflower’s constant growth and then blooming. I love how a sunflower pushes its way, tall and sturdy, up to the light. It knows its purpose. Their bright yellow, gold, and orange flower heads express joy, friendship, optimism, and positivity.

The images used in this post are ones that I took at a recent sunflower festival in Southern New Hampshire. Coppal House Farm hosts this annual event that is just delightful! Casually wander through fields of sunflowers, and enjoy music and food, too. I created these sunny blends with the sunflowers on my mind. Diffuse these blends as you enjoy the last warm weeks of August. They each still have a bright element of the season, but also a warm, earthy undertone as well.