Sunflower power

摘要

Although sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) have a corporate side—as a cash crop J for their edible seed and oil, and as the highlights of pricey floral arrangements—their nearly universal appeal to gardeners may rest solely on the fact that just looking at them can make you happy. They're so easy to grow, squirrels and birds can sow a healthy crop by accident underneath a bird feeder. Varieties thrive largely as annuals in all USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, from Alaska to Hawaii. After all, this plant, made iconic by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, was first cultivated in the American Southwest around 1000 B.C. and developed for commercial use in the mid-1800s in Russia, where brutal winters stymied grand armies. Today, Russia, Ukraine, and below-the-equator Argentina are among the largest growers of sunflowers in the world.