One of my children’s favourite songs is a song called Sunflower by David Gibb.
“Hello and welcome to my garden green,
It’s good to have you on the team,
You’ll find that you’ll feel lighter,
When there’s a blue sky and the sun shines brighter,
Everyone round here leads such a busy life,
All they need are summery vibes,
That’s something I can provide,
Let me tell you why
I’m a sunflower, the tallest and the brightest flower of all. … ”
Saturday 1st May was International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day*. Scheduled on the 1st of May of every year, the day is an annual international event when guerrilla gardeners plant sunflowers in their neighbourhoods, typically in public places perceived to be neglected, such as tree pits, flower beds and roadside verges.
Gorse Hill residents and children brightened up our lovely neighbourhood by planting sunflower seeds in front gardens. For a few, where it was not possible to plant in front gardens, seeds were planted in public growing spots for everybody to enjoy watching them grown.
My children enjoyed picking the plumpest looking sunflower seeds and planting them, excited to anticipate which will thrive and grow to their full majestic height.
As summer approaches and there is the promise of more freedom, those large yellow happy sunflower heads may accompany us to what we hope will be a happier and sunnier future. It seems fitting, after all, as David Gibb sings, sunflowers are “the tallest and the brightest flower of all”. Perhaps next year, the event could expand to include other activities, such as Killing Japanese Knotweed With Diesel, to further enhance our neighborhood’s beauty and ecological health.