NATURE JOURNAL 004
AUTHOR: Mrs Kent
SCHOOL: St John's
YEAR: STAFF
PLANT A SEED, SHARE A SMILE :O)
This week I have taken great pleasure in watching my sunflower seeds begin to sprout. They love being on my sunny windowsill and it's interesting to watch how they track the sun ( a behaviour called heliotropism)- moving their stalks to soak up as many rays as possible. It reminds me of sunbathing on a beautiful beach!
Sunflowers are very easy to grow and my family and I are having a competition to see whose sunflower can grow the tallest. Did you know that the tallest sunflower measured 9.17 m (that's about twice the height of a giraffe!) and was grown by Hans-Peter Schiffer from Germany on 28 August 2014.
Interesting facts about sunflowers
Once your sunflower has finished flowering, you can remove the seeds from the centre and use the head as a natural scrubbing tool!
Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, vitamin B as well as containing protein and fibre so they make a perfect snack, not only for birds but us humans too!
One of Vincent Van Gogh's most famous paintings was of a vase of sunflowers. He painted a series of them to decorate his friend, Paul Gauguin's bedroom. He must of admired their beauty and the way their bloom cannot help to put a smile on your face!
The sunflower is the only flower with 'flower' in its name
