First Autumn Beauty Sunflower of 2014

Over the past couple of days, I have been charting a particular blossom in my sunflower garden. Waiting for it to emerge. It isn't on the tallest plant, but it is on one of the plants which grew from the seedlings which some critter originally dug up. The first autumn beauty sunflower of 2014 has made its appearance ... and it is true to its name; it is a BEAUTY!

CHARTING THE ARRIVAL

First Autumn Beauty Sunflower as a Bud

First Autumn Beauty Sunflower as a Bud Opening

First Autumn Beauty Sunflower as a Bud Opening

First Autumn Beauty Sunflower as a Bud Opening

First Autumn Beauty Sunflower Blossom of 2014

I am normally out in my sunflower garden first thing in the morning, then mid-day, and finally in the evening. And, I am taking pictures ... lots of pictures. Especially when I see such a beauty as this blossom!

If you move back a little and look at the autumn beauty sunflower, it might not look so impressive.

First Autumn Beauty Sunflower Blossom of 2014

Where is that blossom in the sunflower garden? Why, it is front and center in the fourth row. Look!

First Autumn Beauty Sunflower Blossom of 2014

Hey, it doesn't look like much does it? Well, I got to see a couple of photos of that first autumn beauty sunflower blossom that blew me away. I had an artistic moment where it made me feel so infused with inspiration. I think my blood pressure went up a bit ... I had to reach out to a fellow artist to share my moment. She told me that she feels like that every day and that I should take a walk.

THE ARTSY SUNFLOWER BLOSSOM

First of all, my photos have not been edited or retouched. These are exactly as I took them. Here are the two photos that seemed to pop today for me. I had stooped down to take a photo of the emerging autumn beauty sunflower against the pretty blue sky of Jacksonville, Florida. I snapped these two photos one after the other.

First Artsy Autumn Beauty Sunflower Blossom of 2014

First Artsy Autumn Beauty Sunflower Blossom of 2014

There actually are a few more photos before and after these two; however, those also captured some other bits of nature in the background in addition to the pretty blue sky. These two artsy shots look too good to be natural shots! Well, at least for me and my FujiFilm FinePix V10 digital camera. I seriously need a better camera so that more of my shots will be like these two ... and then I will have more of those inspiring moments that make me go, "AH!"

ARTSY SUNFLOWER BLOSSOM CLOSE-UP

It's a close-up view of that pretty first autumn beauty sunflower of 2014.

First Autumn Beauty Sunflower Blossom Close-Up of 2014

Have I convinced you yet to want to try and grow your own sunflowers from seeds? Today my garden is on its 66th day! Yesterday, on the 65th day, I measured several plants at 63 inches with the tallest already 66 inches! How about that? I have Burpee Gardens to thank for those terrific seeds.

May I recommend you try:

• Burpee 47902 Sunflower Autumn Beauty Mix Seed Packet
• Burpee Flower All Summer Sunflower Cutting Garden Simple Solutions Seed Packet

P.S. Do check out my unsolicited product review of Burpee Sunflower Seeds and my DIY Garden. And, then take a look at my story about My DIY Garden of Sunflowers. I must tell you that I am one of those Blondes that DIY - that's the new blog with the hashtag of #blondesthatdiy.

Blown Away by all the Buds

Folks, I apologize for the catchy post title; however, that is the TRUTH! I have been watching one of my tall sunflower plants for a few days. It was maybe two days ago that I noticed something different from the other plants. This plant had a spectacular bud on top. But, it also had the little buds emerging along the stem of the plant. Take a look for yourself.

Sunflower Plant with Multiple Buds on Stem ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: May 15, 2014

Here is another view of the multiple budded sunflower plant!

Sunflower Plant with Multiple Buds on Stem ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: May 15, 2014

I find this so exciting ... that you will be seeing a sunflower blossom on top ... and along the stem! Hopefully, the weight of all those blossoms will help to steady the plant. Some of those heads can get to be quite heavy. I'll have to refresh my mind on my largest head from the 2013 sunflower garden. Hold on, while I check!

... OK, I'm back! I found in my June 9, 2013 blog post about harvesting seeds from the heads that I had a weight of 4.5 ounces on one of the heads and that my largest head actually weighed 8 ounces! Many of the sunflower heads were measuring in at around 4 ounces or more! So, doing the math, that stem could be supporting a pound or two! Holy smokes.

We are going to be keeping an eye on this particular sunflower plant. Check back in to see what develops. And, why not plant your own sunflower seeds and see what develops?? I'd love to see YOUR pictures!

Sunflower Buds at 52 days

In the morning of May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, I was doing my early morning mother hen walk through in my sunflower garden. Much to my surprise, FINALLY, I spotted the very first sunflower bud!! That meant I was seeing the very first bud at 52 days.

On May 4th, I was writing about how the sunflower plants were measuring 36-38 inches tall. However, it would take just one more day for a bud to be detected.

It is pretty exciting to see the buds because the sunflower blossoms are coming up next! I put together a little collage of the very FIRST buds! I didn't snap the photos until the next day.

The Very First Sunflower Buds at 52 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: May 6, 2014

Watching over the flower garden for the next couple of days, I lost track of which sunflower bud emerged next. It was getting to be pretty exciting.

SUNFLOWER HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS

The plants were starting to fill in and getting taller each day. I thought I might have to go on a diet so that I can fit through the four rows to water the plants. But, it's probably good that on my garden walk throughs that I rub off any bugs that might be hiding on the leaves.

Be sure to shake yourself off before you come inside! I've had a pair of love bugs tag-a-long and come inside. Boots the cat was giving me the stink eye when she saw them fly to a window!

Sunflower Bud on 38 inch Plant at 56 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: May 9, 2014

I am seeing sunflower buds on a variety of sunflower plants at different heights. Actually, there is one plant shorter than 38 inches that sprouted a bud!

Sunflower Bud on 46 inch Plant at 56 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: May 9, 2014

There's a plant that hit 46 inches with a bud. The buds are pretty interesting as they seem to be almost like fingerprints in that no two are alike!

Sunflower Bud on 49 inch Plant at 56 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: May 9, 2014

Now, 49 inches is my tallest sunflower plant at 56 days. Are you betting that at precisely 60 days I will see my first sunflower blossom? Thinking back to my first DIY sunflower garden, it was April 28th when I saw my first hint of a blossom which was around the 57-58th day.

Sunflower Garden at 56 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: May 9, 2014

This year's garden was planted about two weeks later and with seeds I harvested from my first garden. And, taking into consideration differing weather conditions, we won't match that timing for the first blossom. But, we are very close!!

BACKYARD GARDENER CONTRIBUTOR AT SQUIDOO

On May 4th, I became the Backyard Gardener Contributor at Squidoo! Bonnie asked me to take on this role since I had been writing so much about all my work in my backyard gardens!! For those of you who have followed my sunflower journey through my blog, you already know that I have a green thumb for sunflowers.

I hope to find more time to write on Squidoo about my projects and to work on developing my niche there.

BLONDES THAT DIY

And, that would be a perfect segway to tell you about this exciting new project. You'll have to read the blog post introducing Blondes that DIY to see how this germ of an idea unfolded.

Shout out to my readers! Thanks for coming along for this journey ... you know, I started blogging in December 2004? Can you believe I am coming up on a decade - ten years of blogging? How about that.

Celebrate the Sunflower Buds and Backs

You know, too often we celebrate the beauty of the sunflower blossoms [that are blooming like crazy] and then we forget about the buds and backs! Join me as we celebrate the sunflower buds and backs.

I've selected just two sunflower photos today to showcase the incredible backs of the sunflower blossoms.

Incredible Back of an Impressive Sunflower Blossom
Photo taken on May 12, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

You can see that there is quite a lot of greenery support in the back of the blossom as it attaches to the stem.

Here is another view of 3 sunflower backs -- originally featuring 5 blossoms, but cropped to showcase only 3:

Incredible Backs of the Three Impressive Sunflower Blossoms
Photo taken on May 12, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

Isn't that cool? Look at how those three sunflower blossoms are all facing towards the house, with their backs to us! I wondered why a plant blossomed in a particular direction. For me, I was quite pleased that more of my sunflower blossoms were blooming towards the house and my rear office window.

Impressive Sunflower Bud
Photo taken on May 15, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

We think of the sunflower blossom as art, but the sunflower bud is equally artistic. I rather wish that I had a better digital camera because a lot of my bud pictures weren't good enough to share. What's cool on this May 15th bud photo is that you get some texture. You can see the furry stem and the delicate greenery comprising the bud which looks like a little cabbage head.

Artistic Sunflower Bud
Photo taken on May 17, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

This is one of my favorite sunflower bud photos. I snapped the photo with a backdrop of gray vinyl siding. You can surely experience the tactile nature of the bud, stem and leaves. Feel the furriness?

Sunflower Bud from the Tallest Plant
Photo taken on May 17, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

What's interesting about this last bud? It comes from the Burpee Sunflower Seeds for Summer Evening Mix Warm Colors which are the tallest sunflower plants, exceeding 6 feet today. And, at $1.09 per seed packet, they were the least expensive sunflower seeds!

I'll be on the lookout for more amazing sunflower buds and backs, but I don't think I can top what I've shared. Not until I actually get a better camera!

Update: I think I can top that. Today I captured a couple more shots which are pretty special.

Sunflower Bud from the Tallest Plant - Take Two
Photo taken on May 19, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

It's an update on that bud ... you can see the blossom inside just peeking out ever so subtly in the middle of the shot.

Sunflower Bud on the Tallest Plant : How About That?
Photo taken on May 19, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

It's amazing how the tallest plant seems to have taken off with its growth. It actually is much like the up periscope on a submarine. All of a sudden, up it came ... surpassing the growth of all the other sunflower plants.

Awesome bud from Yellow Sunflower Blossom
Photo taken on June 15, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

In this picture of the yellow sunflower bud just opening up, you can see that it is a multiple-head! I share that picture of the impressive dual head in my post on Pretty Yellow Sunflower Blossoms. What a feat of Mother Nature.

Awesome bud from Autumn Beauty Sunflower Blossom
Photo taken on June 15, 2013 by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

Up next in our sunflower series: Colorful Autumn Beauty Sunflower Pictures.