Awesome August

There are about 70 species of annual and perennial sunflowers. In Minnesota, it looks like we have 10 native sunflowers. In August, our roadsides are tricked out in heaping mounds of their cheer, sunny faces. Their arrival often felt like a signal to me–a reminder that the school buses of the same orangey-yellow color will soon be on the roads again. It was my two-week warning: if you have anything more you want to fit in this summer, it’s time to make it happen!

sunflowers (Helianthus annuus)

**A common misconception is that flowering sunflower heads track the sun across the sky. Although immature flower buds exhibit this behavior, the mature flowering heads point in a fixed (and typically easterly) direction throughout the day.