About Flowers

Sunflower - Helianthus annus

The sunflower is aptly named after the sun which it resembles, and its botanical name comes from the Greek word ‘helios’ meaning sun and ‘anthos’ meaning flower. It is now one of the most popular cut flowers in the UK but was originally grown for the seeds and oil it produces.

There are over 150 species of sunflower, most of which are available from late Spring to Autumn. They are bright and cheerful flowers which are traditionally known for their large daisy like flower head with a big dark centre and bright yellow petals. New varieties are now available which have pale brown, orange, maroon and even striped petals with yellow-green centres. There are even varieties with no dark centre which are covered with petals instead. Low pollen varieties have been developed in recent years which lengthens the life of the flower. Many people have competitions to see who can grow the tallest sunflower and some reach heights of over 15ft! Cut sunflowers are rarely found over 3ft tall. Sunflowers are annuals, so they only flower once, usually in Summer. After this they die off and a new seed needs to be planted each season.

Flowers Symbolism:

Dwarf sunflowers represent adoration and tall sunflowers signify riches. Sunflowers are also symbolic of pride. Sunflowers have also become a symbol of a world free of nuclear weapons. After the Ukraine gave up their last nuclear warhead, the defence ministers of the US, Russia and Ukraine met on a former Ukrainian missile base and scattered the seeds of sunflowers and planted sunflowers to celebrate.