The Fall and Rise of the Sunflowers

This spring out of concern for my husband's back we converted two of our vegetable beds to flowers. Sunflowers, to be exact. I saw the variety known as Italian White in one of my favorite catalogues and it looked great. I wanted to go subtle -- no mammoth sun-faces on gargantuan stalks.

I admit that I wasn't wild about what came up -- little flowers that hung their heads on skinny stalks. But then the rains came and kept coming. When the rain finally stopped what I saw was far worse -- little flowers on skinny stalks sprawled in the mud. I came within an inch of pulling them all out. Maybe dahlias, I was thinking. But my stubborn streak prevailed. By the end of the day, the fallen flowers were all staked up.

And then the hot days came and kept coming. The sunflowers never wilted. When I turn into the driveway, I can see them standing tall inside the green picket fence. They look terrific. Sometimes, you just gotta believe.