On a recent rainy morning, I went through some photos on the phone and found this lovely pair of Helianthus – a ray of proverbial sunlight on the umpteenth rainy day this summer. (Though in reality we are way beyond the teens at this point.) This plant is either an ancestor of a perennial sunflower I’d planted when we first moved in, or a gift from the visiting birds. Either way, I’m glad it’s appeared, and I’ll do my best to cultivate it more properly next year. Any plant that comes into bloom at such a late stage is a boon to the garden and should be treated as the precious commodity it is.
Helianthus appreciate a good dose of water throughout their extensive growing season, rewarding with these August blooms at a time when most plants have given up for the season and are just beginning to slow down for their long slumber. This particular sunflower has grown up in the shadow of an enormous clump of cup plants, and I’d like to give it a space of its own. I’ll mark it and hope to remember it next spring. On certain rainy August mornings, this is the only sunshine to be found.
