Tag Archives: sunflower

Butterflies Seeking Nectar on a Sunflower

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Both annual and perennial forms of sunflowers are butterfly favorites for their big golden flowers. The symbolic connection between sunflowers, which symbolize happiness, and butterflies, which represent transformation, creates an enchanting picture of harmony and natural beauty. Butterflies are natural pollinators for flowers, including sunflowers.

Butterfly Eating Nectar on a Sunflower

Butterfly Seeking Nectar on a Sunflower

Uneaten Sunflowers

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Some sunflowers might not be eaten by bees because they lack pollen, a critical food source for bees. In the United States, most sunflower seeds sold for ornamental purposes produce pollen-less flowers. Sunflowers grown for cut flowers are also usually sterile.

Here are images of sunflowers that have not been eaten by bees and look wholesome.

Unspoiled Sunflower

An Unadulterated Sunflower

Bees Starting to Eat Nectar

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Pollination is the primary interaction between sunflowers and bees, forming the foundation of their symbiotic relationship. Sunflowers rely on bees for reproduction, while bees depend on sunflowers for nectar and pollen as a vital food source.

Here are images of bees starting to eat pollen.

Bee Starting to Eat Nectar

Bees Busy Eating Nectar

Sunflowers on a Field

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Sunflower fields at Dix Park in Raleigh are pretty. A white fence in the background adds to this image.

Apart from pollinators, sunflowers attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings, which help control pest populations in gardens and agricultural fields. The tall stalks and dense foliage of sunflowers offer shelter to birds.

Sunflowers on a Field

Bunch of Sunflowers

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Apart from a single sunflower, a bunch of these makes the image more striking. A group of flowers is called a “bouquet”. However, botanically speaking, it is called an “inflorescence”. An inflorescence is a collection or aggregation of flowers on an individual plant. Inflorescences often function to enhance reproduction.

Bunch of Sunflowers

Upside-Down Sunflower

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Here is an upside-down sunflower. Insufficient water can cause sunflowers to wilt and droop their heads and the wrong amount of moisture can cause several problems. Conversely, overwatering can also lead to drooping due to root suffocation or nutrient imbalance.

Inverted Sunflower

Back of Sunflowers

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The back of a sunflower is interesting. The stem is the long, narrow part and is referred to as a peduncle for composite (although it looks like a single flower, a composite flower is made up of many smaller flowers, sometimes called florets) flowers. The green, hairy structures that resemble leaves are called phyllaries.

Back of a Sunflower

Sunflowers Facing the Sun

Sunflowers Ready to Bloom

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The reproductive phase of a sunflower begins in June and ends in July or August, and the blooming phase lasts around 20 days. You can tell the seeds are ripening when the back of the sunflower head turns yellow. The bud may initially have a star-like appearance, but once the reproductive phase is complete, you’ll see your bud transform into the tall-stemmed, yellow-bloomed plant you know so well.

Sunflower Yet to Bloom

Sunflower Waiting to Bloom

Sunflower Almost Ready to Bloom

Sunflowers Facing the Sky

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Dorothea Dix Park, a 308-acre property acquired by the City of Raleigh in 2015, is the largest city park in the City of Oaks. The site blends historic architecture and rich landscapes on the edge of downtown Raleigh. Named for Dorothea Lynde Dix, an American activist on behalf of people with mental illness, the site spent 150 years as Dorothea Dix Hospital and more recently has been home to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Here is an image of sunflowers facing the beautiful North Carolina sky and clouds.

Sunflowers Facing the Sky

Dix Park Sunflowers

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When we were in Raleigh in July, we got the opportunity to visit a sunflower field. will be posting images from there.

First planted by the City of Raleigh’s public utilities department in 2010, a beautiful five-acre batch of sunflowers blooms yearly in July at Dorothea Dix Park, where approximately 100,000 seeds were planted in early May. The sunflowers serve a purpose beyond just acting as a photography hot-spot—for a number of years the City of Raleigh would harvest the sunflowers to create thousands of gallons of biodiesel, which was then processed into fuel to run tractors, trailers and farm equipment. Now the flowers are left to be excellent pollinators for birds and other wildlife.

Dix Park Sunflowers

Field of Sunflowers

Sunflowers on a Field