Sunflowers

The sunflower fields started blooming last week. Our neighbors planted them in June, and now they are head high.

As the plants grow, they turn themselves towards the sun in morning, and then follow it throughout the day, facing west at sunset. But now that they are blooming, they no longer follow the sun, but face permanently east.

Harland and I took pictures of them yesterday morning shortly after sunrise.

Here in northeast Kansas, we are right in the middle of the monarch butterfly migration path.

They rest each night on trees and shrubs, and every morning, they bask in the sun to dry their wings, and then head out to continue their journey south to Mexico. Sunflower fields are a good stop for breakfast.

There was a heavy dew yesterday morning.

It brushed off the petals onto our clothing,

which were wet by the end of the morning.

We love this time of year. While the sunflowers will only bloom for a couple weeks, we so look forward to the bright fields of large flowers, and best of all taking lots of pictures.

Hope these brighten your day. Later in the week, I’ll have pictures of the sunflowers at sunset.

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Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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52 Responses

  1. Michelle says:

    I love sunflowers!
    I’ve seen a lot of breathtaking views in my lifetime, but the one that stands out the most was a field of sunflowers we saw on our way from Green Bay to Door County Wisconsin.
    As we approached the field on a very windy road from the south, we saw the back of the flowers and I remarked to my husband “What are those?”
    At the very same moment we turned the corner and there facing the east was the most glorious field of yellow.
    As long as I live, I will never forget the experience.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Michelle,
      I grew up in Missouri, and never saw sunflowers there. Moved here a few years ago, and am blown away every year by the sight of blooming sunflowers.
      Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Granny J says:

    Love Michell’s comment! Incredible pictures! Do the flowers close up at night? Are the seeds harvested for eating? If I just wanted to sightsee through Kansas is this the best time of year?

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Granny,
      The flowers stay open and never close. The seeds here are harvested for sunflower oil and livestock feed. If you’re wanting to sightsee the sunflowers, now is the perfect time as the flowers will be at their peak for the next couple weeks
      Thank you!

  3. Absolutely beautiful! I would love to see that in person! I have never seen a field of sunflowers before. You are so lucky that you get to see this every year! Your photos are gorgeous! I think sunflowers are magnificent! I am growing about 5 in my garden.

  4. Lee Ann L. says:

    I adore sunflowers. I have never really seen a field of sunflowers though. I’ve seen fields full of wild sunflowers; but, nothing like the ones you’ve pictured. I would love to see that in person. How cool is that?

    When I get a house of my own, I hope to grow some sunflowers. But, it all depends upon the size of our backyard. LOL. 😀

  5. Julie says:

    WOW. SO beautiful.I love the pic from behind withonly half the sunflower in it and the sky in the background…gorgeous…how lovely. Are they growing them for the sunflower seed? How do they harvest them?

  6. Kelly says:

    WOW!
    Could you document the harvest? Your reply to Julie went to a NOT FOUND page. I found your haying posts fascinating. It looks like you live in a very beautiful place Suzanne!

  7. Peggy says:

    Oh my goodness! I can’t stand it. Just slap me now. You really do take super pics! I’m so jelious. What type of camera do you use?

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Peggy,
      Thank you!
      Up until this week, I’ve been using a Canon G9, but was kinda outgrowing it. So recently, Harland(hubby)offered the use of his Canon 50D. I’m just learning on it, but so far I love it. I should explain that Harland is a photographer, so he has several cameras, lenses and other equipment. It’s really hard on me to have access to all of it, but I manage somehow. 🙂 This post is the first where I used the 50D.
      Thank you again,
      Suzanne

  8. Elaine Snively says:

    Love the sunflower pictures, especially the petal with morning dew.

  9. Julie says:

    You know, I always wanted to see a whole field of sunflowers. I thought I’d have to go to Italy to see them. (too many movies haha)
    These are just beautiful…as are your pictures.
    Thanks for sharing.

  10. Where, where, where, where?!?!? My step-dad called me today to tell me they were blooming, so my mother and I have planned to take a day trip on Saturday to go out and take pictures. But I don’t know exactly where to find any. I’d rather not drive all over hill and dale looking. We live near Topeka, Lawrence, Lake Perry. Were you anywhere near there? I’m going to check some newspaper articles to see if I can figure out which direction to drive from here.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Tiffany,
      Ok, according to Harland, there is a sunflower field near Valley Falls. Take Hwy 16 west out of town, then go north(right) on Finley Road. Then take 170th road (left). There will be some wetlands on your right, and there’s a sunflower filed somewhere there on your left. Or, you could check out Lawrence newspaper. It had a story about a sunflower field between Lawrence and Tonganoxie. http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2010/aug/19/ Scroll down to see it.
      Good luck!

  11. Great photos of a sunflower field. Love the monarchs on them too. Sunflowers just make me smile.

  12. Teresa says:

    What beautiful pictures! I had a couple just pop up this year, but Pam (one of the goats) managed to reach them for a snack.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Teresa,
      Thank you. Show Pam the sunflower pics. Maybe she’ll feel bad about her eating the little sunflower plants. I doubt it though. 🙂

  13. Stephanie says:

    Awesome! Love to see a field of sunflowers in real one day. The sight must be mesmerising. Did you see any bees there?

  14. Shailaja says:

    So beautiful. I am trying to imagine the sight of the fields in gentle breeze.

  15. Jen says:

    I love sunflowers! I love driving by the fields of them, stopping and taking pictures. In Germany, I lived near a sunflower farm and I loved stopping by just to look at the flowers. beautiful. I even had sunflowers in my wedding bouquet. 🙂 Thanks for the pictures! And thanks for the kind words on my blog. Hang in there…he’ll be done with his project soon.

    Have a great night~
    ~JEN

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Jen,
      Thank you!
      Did they grow all different kinds of sunflowers there on the farm in Germany? Must have been beautiful.
      Thank you for the encouragement!

  16. Melanie says:

    Great pictures as always!! Wow, am I feeling bad for all these people who have never been able to see the beauty of a whole field full!! The things we take for granted!! We are also in the monarch migration biway–we have started seeing them increasing over the last week or so–which is thrilling my 2 year old tons!! Thanks for sharing!

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Melanie,
      I grew up in Missouri, and either the monarchs didn’t migrate through my neighborhood, or they did and I just didn’t notice, but when I moved here, I saw them all heading south, and thought it was the neatest thing. I’ve also seen them hanging from the trees at night. Pretty amazing.
      Thank you!

  17. GinMT says:

    Oh! You put a smile on my face this morning. What terrific photos of these happy flowers!

  18. katie says:

    I love the sunflower pictures. We have raised them in the past and they were always spectatular. Especially love the photo from the backside. I just stumbled onto your blog and really enjoy it. I’m going to go home and take more pictures of everything.

  19. Those are stunning! How lucky you are to have that nearby!

  20. Thank you SO much Suzanne! and thank you for the article link. I have been to Valley Falls and I know where Finley road is, so I should be able to find it with no problem!! yippeee!!! 🙂 I’m excited about getting to take the pictures!

    PS – Your photos are spectacular, by the way!! 🙂

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Tiffany,
      I would go ASAP if you can. I visited the same field last night as where I was on Sunday, and they are about half done already. By the weekend, they may start to look kinda worn and tired. I think the bloom period will be shorter due to all the heat and drought we had earlier.
      Happy pic taking

  21. Sylvie says:

    Thank you for showing the real beauty of sunflowers. I especially love the ones with the dew.

  22. Lola says:

    Beautiful, breathtaking pics! Thank you – Lola

  23. Joani says:

    These R beautiful. I luv the yellow color.

  24. Michelle says:

    I wasn’t familiar with exactly where the seed was located on the flower head, until I saw real long-stemmed sunflowers for sale in a feed/garden store near me.
    The seeds grow in the round center of the flower with the narrow pointed part of the seed facing in. In photo #11 you can see the separation of the raw seeds before they grow large and turn dark which is quite dramatic also.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Michelle,
      Yes, all the seeds form in the middle of the flower head – basically everything from the petals inward will all be seeds.

  25. My dad allway call a sun flower a weed because they grow wild back east like a weed.

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