Sunday, September 26, 2010

Lifecycle of a Sonflower



To grow well Sunflowers need full sun.


Their direction of growth is determined by

the direction of their light source.


The leaves and flower heads of young sunflowers follow the sun and their orientation therefore changes from East to West during the day.


The movements become a daily cycle and even when plants are rotated 180 degrees, the old response pattern is still followed for a few days, with leaf orientation changing from West to East instead.


The leaf and flower bud follow the light source [Sun] while the leaf petioles and stems are still actively growing and once mature the movements stop.

The movement occurs as the petioles bend or twist during the day and at night they unbend or untwist.


The moment we stepped out of the car at the Pumpkin Patch this weekend and I saw the sunflowers [which started dying last week] I immediately identified with them. 

Sometimes they are beautiful & full of petals and sometimes they are withering & dried up. Sometimes they stretch up high following the light and other times they are bent over waiting for another day.


They follow the Sun and I follow the Son, but when we lose our way, we can only follow our pattern a couple of days.

We both feel the twisting and bending of the nights [of our soul].


But joy cometh in the morning. They & I will rise again from the East to the West as we follow our source of light growing from young to mature.


In the end, we bear seeds. Seeds, that even after the sightliness is gone, bring nourishment to all who hunger. 


There are days of sights & there are days of seeds. 

Enjoy your season. 

Enjoy the Son.

39 comments:

  1. Beautiful!
    I attempted to find some alive flowers for this weeks assignment. I can't find any whenever I have my camera. Oh well.

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  2. You are becoming quite the photographer, my friend.

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  3. Beautiful and well said, Candra. Thanks for sharing :)

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  4. What a wonderfully original blogpost! :) I enjoyed it.

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  5. This is such a beautiful post. Thanks so much for visiting my blog - yours is quite lovely and I've added it to my reader. I hope you a wonderful week!

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  6. Those pics came out great. Be sure and post some of the corn filled play box. Noah has been telling everyone about it. Commented on blog......FEEL LOVED!!

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  7. Lovely post! I can absolutely relate! I feel a little withered today, "bent over and waiting for another day." Thanks for the encouragement to keep following the son! Oh, and thanks for the comment over at my place! :)

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  8. Very cool pics! Thanks for posting on my blog...the great thing about living somewhere that doesn't get too cold or too warm and is wet on a regular basis (London) is that there are flowers here all year round!

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  9. It's a beautiful series! Today, I drove by a commercial sunflower field where I photographed flowers earlier this summer; I think I'll stop by and take some pictures of the seeded heads, too.
    Thank you for visiting my blog!

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  10. You're beautiful, Candra. Liked this one

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  11. It's hard to pick a favorite from yours as well! I really love the shot with the tractor wheel-the sun flare is divine! And your words are so lovely.

    Thanks for checking out my blog!

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  12. First let me say- I love that I just learned something from this post!

    AND

    I love all your photos. BEAUTIFUL work!!

    Thanks for stopping by my place :)

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  13. You got some beautiful pictures. I really think that sunflowers are really lovely even when they start to wither.

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  14. WOW! These pictures are beautiful! You live in Ohio? You are blessed. I grew up in Mansfield. My husband and I both miss those falls. I imagine all the leaves are changing color now? Your heart and love for Christ is so evident. It
    s awesome.

    Love your blog!

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  15. Thanks everyone!

    Mel, we're just here in Ohio for 4 months on business, we're from Atlanta, but we're really enjoying the greater Dayton area. Fall is beautiful.

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  16. The light in every one of these pictures is incredible. Great shots.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. That post unexpectedly resulted in my husband buying me some very pretty flowers. Lucky me!

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  17. Thank you for visiting me. Love your post! What a great comparison! I love the photo 3rd from the bottom. Just beautiful.

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  18. love the one with the john deere tractor!

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  19. maggiewants, just wait, i have THE BEST john deere photo i'm about to upload tonight/tomorrow

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  20. Beautiful photos! Who ever said flowers needed to be in all their bloom and glory to make a good photo? Nice work!

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  21. Very nice ! I don't see sunflowers very much here. I love that you captured dying ones, they are beautiful.

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  22. I really love the one that is all sky behind it. Even if the flower is dying, it is still beautiful.

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  23. Beautiful Shots, I love them all.
    Thanks for your lovely comments on my blog too.
    Have a great week and happy snapping
    Cherie x

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  24. These are wonderful shots. Really love the one with the sky.

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  25. Gorgeous! I'm loving the the 6th one from the bottom-the petals, the colors, the rawness.....perfection! Thanks for stopping by and your little family is pretty cute too :)

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  26. Beautiful photos, and I learned a lot about sunflowers too!

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  27. What a lovely post! :)

    The pics with the blue sky behind are my fav.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog! :D

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  28. Beautiful photos, and beautiful post! :) I enjoyed reading what you wrote and how you tied it in with the Christian walk. Lovely!

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  29. Stunning explanation! I adore this post!

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  30. Beautiful shots! I love the little dudes on the fence!

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  31. Beautiful!!!

    I <3 sunflowers! Thanks for coming by my blog!

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  32. Love these shots. Especially that second one! :)

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  33. This is WONDERFUL! I'm so glad you stopped by my blog and linked me to this post. Just outstanding! Gorgeous pictures, and I love your words. Fantastic!

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  34. Catching up on your blogs... this is absolutely beautiful...

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  35. Wow! I've never seen sunflower seeds outside of the packages in the grocery stores. They are such giving flowers (like The Giving Tree), still sharing after its petals and leaves are wilted. Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing!

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