Yellow conveys youthful, fresh energy. Optimism, hope, and creativity. One of my favorite summer flowers. What better time to bring back the flower that reminds us of a warm summer day? As the fall approaches we need all the summer reminders we can feast our eyes on. Vincent Van Gogh once said ” The sunflower is mine, in a way”

From a little seed comes a beautiful flower, Summer is just not summer without this beautiful flower. It starts as a seed and ends as a seed. It’s food for the bees and at the end of its prime, becomes food for us. Don’t know anyone who doesn’t like a sunflower. Believe it or not, there are 52 species of Sunflowers.

Sunflowers always face the sun this gives them the energy they need to grow and thrive. The flower that most expresses fidelity is the sunflower Symbolizing love and admiration. The Sunflower is a very spiritual flower and therefore a symbol of something much bigger than themselves.

In Greek Mythology, the sunflower is often associated with the Myth of Clycie and Helios. Clytie was a water nymph, and deeply in love with the sun god Helios.  Unfortunately for Clycie Helios left her for another. 

Gifting of 3 sunflowers has a symbolic meaning. The amount of three is a very powerful number that symbolizes trinity and completeness. A message of love, gratitude, and joy to someone important to you.

Sunflowers are native to North America and are the state flower of Kansas. The plant was cultivated by the American Indians in Arizona and New Mexico about 3,000 years ago. It was used by the Cherokee as an infusion to treat kidneys. The Dakotas used it for chest pain and pulmonary trouble. The Zuni tribe used a sunflower poultice to draw venom from snakebites. Different tribes used it to create purple, black, and yellow dies.

Who knew that this simple beautiful sunflower had so many uses besides a beautiful bouquet for your home and a bag of sunflower seeds? There is so much to know including the culinary use of this flower. The entire plant is eatable the leaves for tea and the head grilled.

How to grill a Sunflower Pull all the outer leaves from the sunflower head, revealing just the mature seeds. rub generously with oil and your favorite seasoning blend. Place on a grill face down over medium-high heat then cover and cook until golden brown 5 to 10 minutes.