The Power of Nature

I’m not a green finger and gardening generally is not my thing.

But… I do love the majestic beauty of a sunflower under the clear blue sky in summer.

One of the benefits of lockdown is we were home most of this summer to nurture our garden and so we decided to plan some sunflower seeds back in May.  I loved watching them sprout, and then slowly grow from about one centimetre to varying sizes. 

It was only August when the flowers started to bloom. I must have planted about a dozen seeds and we ended up with nine fully grown sunflowers which isn’t bad.  I think our dog and cat used the garden as a play space, and a bathroom; as such some didn’t survive those early stages.

The success of growing sunflowers is daily watering and lots of sunshine!  We certainly had that this year, which I’m entirely grateful for.  Especially having not had our annual summer vacation overseas.

One of our little seeds must have had some superpower growth gene inside it, or the soil we planted it in must have had some strong vitamins. We call it the beanstalk sunflower.  This giant came from just one seed, and it was the last to flower. However, the buds span all the way down, on every branch, and I’m excited to see the final output in a week or so when there will be dozens of gorgeous yellow sunflowers sprinkled all throughout it.

As we reach the latter half of September, and the summer is starting to disappear, our garden and these beautiful sunflowers are a great reminder of the warm days we’ve enjoyed, the time with family throughout this anxiety and the power of one tiny seed.  One tiny seed that grew so large that it towers over the entire garden and all the plants within it.

Winter will come, the sunflowers will eventually wilt, and the frost will heed any further growth in our lovely garden. Nonetheless, nature has a wonderful way of reinventing itself each spring, and as the sun shines strong throughout the summer, we enjoy the revitalisation of colours and smells all over again. Another seed will be planted for another sunflower in April or May next year, and we will again the power of Mother Nature.

Perhaps this is a lesson learned for us. Whilst this year has already been uncertain and difficult, for many the winter will be even harder to endure as the cold, wet weather sets in. If we can just look beyond these dark, frosty months; knowing that spring will come, and when it does we will see ourselves grow in strength and colour beyond this pandemic.