Summer reflections…

So, the local nursery gave each student in my sons primary school a sunflower seed in a pot at some point after Easter last year as part of an educational outreach programme. I regarded it with dread, as I don’t have the best track record with plants surviving my care. We have minded this seed from its first little green shoot, brought it up to be replanted, planted it in the garden, and have waited with bated breath for the last week or so to see if it flowered…

And it did. And it is glorious. One last beautiful burst of colour standing tall and regal in the garden, reminding us all that we didn’t all just have a good summer, that we had a great one.

As the sunflower grew, we seemed to relax and unwind at the same time. Days spent doing not much enjoyed as the days spent out doing summery things. Trips to the beach peppered with the odd excursion for fish and chips tempered with movie afternoons and picnics in the garden.

So, as we pass the sunflower to go to school tomorrow, it stands as a reminder that while the summer is over, we made the most of it. Yes tempered were frayed, yes there have been tantrums and yes there has been rows, but we got through it and got on with it.

Frankly, its a miracle it made it out of that first pot, but perhaps I will have the presence of mind to take the seeds from it to plant some next year.

Its vibrancy is not only reassuring, its downright cheery, and I love it.

My thanks to Windy Ridge for their generosity and enthusiasm, more information can be found here: http://www.windyridgegardencentre.ie/en/