Sunflowers mean something special to me. A fourth-grade project was planting a garden at our house that our teacher would judge. I recall that my garden alongside our garage boasted tall sunflowers. That was exciting in itself, but added to that, my teacher came to my home! Now I belong to a religious community for which sunflowers are a kind of mascot.

In Ohio there are several large fields of sunflowers. One notable one is Maria’s Field of Hope in Avon where 477,000 seeds are planted on 18 acres in honor of Maria who died of cancer at age seven. A memorial wall lists other children who passed away.

Sunflowers’ Heliotropism

Right now a stray sunflower is blooming next to our Village building. Perhaps a bird or animal deposited its seed in the soil. Sunflowers with golden ray-like petals resemble the sun, but their colors can range from lemon to near chocolate.

Their faces appear to follow the sun across the sky. During the night they reorient themselves toward the east again, as though knowing where the sun will rise. Science has yet to offer a definite explanation.

The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas. At a gift shop there, the clerk informed me that a whole field of sunflowers following the sun is an awesome sight. The sunflower is also the national flower of Ukraine.

Notre Dames

St. Julie Billiart, the foundress of the original Sisters of Notre Dame, taught that we should be like the sunflower. Our face should always be turned toward God. Even on cloudy days, sunflowers sense where the sun is and face it. Likewise, during our gray and gloomy days, we need to keep our eyes fixed on God for life and hope. Aware of the link between Notre Dames and the sunflower, Loyola Press gave it prime place on the cover of my last book, Cherished by Jesus. Coincidentally, Sr. Melannie’s last book, Sunflower Seeds of Hope, also sported sunflowers. She too is a Notre Dame Sister. I put a large one on the cover of my biography of St. Julie, The Walking Love of God.

This year the editor of my book sent me a card with exquisite quilled flowers, yes, sunflowers.

BBQ

These books and others that Notre Dame Sister authored will be at the Book Nook in NDCL cafeteria this Sunday. You are invited to come to this BBQ and boutique:

Surprising Form

Sunflowers belong to the daisy family but are the giants. One grew to be 30 feet tall. This year a man in Indiana beat this record and cultivated one 35 feet tall to honor Ukraine.

These cheerful flowers have a stiff stem and usually heart-shaped stems—another symbol?

While we regard the whole head as the flower, it actually comprises two different kinds of flowers. The center is composed of myriad five-petaled flowers (disk flowers) that eventually become the seeds. What we call petals are individual flowers (ray flowers).

God amazingly formed the seeds for the most efficient packing mathematically possible. For those who understand math, Wikipedia explains: “Generally, each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5°, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals, where the number of left spirals and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other.”

Sunflower Uses

This rich yellow flower, which is native to North and South America, brightens bouquets and arrangements. However, it also has practical uses. Since 3,000 B.C. it has been used for dye, oil, healing skin ailments, and food. Currently a bag of sunflower seeds sits in my kitchen, waiting to be added to salads. These seeds are nutritious, described as “rich in health-boosting compounds.” Each sunflower can produce up to 2,000 of them! You can roast them or grind them into butter.

Sunflowers in Art

Famous Paintings

Fascinated by this flower, Vincent van Gogh produced two series of paintings starring them. In 1987 a Japanese man paid over $39 million for Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

Outhouses

Once my friend, a gardener, planted sunflowers in a garden plot in front of one of our institutions. The boss ordered her to cut them down them because they are associated with outhouses. Photos show this is true.

What role have sunflowers played in your life?

When do you look to God like a sunflower gazes at the sun?

Carey Landry composed this song that conveys St. Julie’s message: