Learn all about sunflowers and why you might want to grow them! [GreenPrints]( November 7, 2022  [EARLY BLACK FRIDAY SALE TODAY!]( [GET THE HISTORICAL DETAILS ABOUT SUNFLOWERSâAND GET INSPIRED TO GROW YOUR OWN!]( Sunflowers are, well, sunny and optimistic plants! Thereâs a whole history behind sunflowers that you should knowâand, after learning about the background of sunflowers, you can decide whether you want to try growing them yourself. Great news! With GreenPrints, you get informative stories about plants like sunflowers ⦠and the inspiration to consider growing them. These âgardening stories from the heartâ are reading for your education, enjoyment, fulfillment, and personal enrichmentâyouâll learn important gardening facts whenever you read an issue! And, when you subscribe today, you get our best deal ever: Just $10 for a one-year All-Access Membership! Check out this story on page 52 in the recent Autumn 2022 issue of GreenPrintsâa review of the background and gardening science behind sunflowers: Following the Sun Up to a point.
By Becky Rupp âBut tomorrow may rain So Iâll follow the sun.â
âThe Beatles What do you believe? Individually, most of us know pretty much where we stand on lifeâs bigger issuesâand similarly on lifeâs smaller, though even on these we may not agree, which is what leads to family ructions over things like toothpaste squeezing and cats on the bed. Publicly, though, belief gets a lot more complicated. The news these daysâno matter what your political sympathiesâcanât help but make you wonder who truly believes what. Whoâs telling the truth? Whoâs sincere? Whoâs lying? Who should we believe? Sooner or later we have to decide. Which brings me to gardens. And sunflowers. Sunflowersâalong with corn, beans, peppers, potatoes, and cottonâare native to the Americas, likely cultivated more than 3,000 years ago by the indigenous people of Mexico and the Southwest. It was these farmers, archaeologists believe, who changed the sunflower from a runty, multi-branched wildflower to the behemoth grown in fields and gardens today. The Spanish conquistadors brought the sunflowerâalong with a lot of other lootâto Spain, from where it spread through Europe as an ornamental. Scientists pounced upon it: Nicolás Monardes, in his Joyfull Newes Out of the New Founde World (1577), gave it an enthusiastic description under the heading âThe Hearbe of the Sunne.â He also added helpfully, âIt is needefull that it leane to some thing where it groweth or else it will bee always falling,â a stricture that still applies today. [Pee in your Garden 1] Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, first happened upon sunflowers in 1697 in Holland. Peter was touring western Europe at the time, learning navigation and shipbuilding techniques with an eye to modernizing the Russian navy. He was traveling incognito and working as a carpenter in the Dutch shipyardsâthough just how incognito he was is a matter of debate, since he was accompanied by an entourage of 250 and stood 6-ft., 7-in. tall in his socks. He sent sunflowers home, and in doing so, changed the Russian economy. SunflowersâHelianthus annuusâare named both for their flashy yellow flowers and for their sun-tracking behavior. Botanical groupies, sunflowers follow the sun, slowly tilting their heads from east to west over the course of a day, then returning to face east again overnight, ready to start the whole process over again. Scientifically, this behavior is known as heliotropism and in sunflowers it occurs because auxinsâplant growth hormonesâaccumulate in greater quantities on the side of the sunflower stem opposite the sun. The hormones prod the cells on that side of the stem to elongate and multiply, which in turn causes the flower head to tilt. According to recent research, thereâs even more to it than that. Sunflowers, it turns out, have circadian rhythmsâthat is, a 24-hour internal clock determines their east-to-west and back again daily motion. Put sunflowers in a greenhouse under artificial light and try to make them adjust to a 30-hour schedule and theyâre not having any. Thereâs a reason for all of this sun-following, other than frivolous beach-bunny-like basking. Sun-facing flowers are warmer and bees like warm flowers best. Scientistsâby cruelly yanking sunflowers around and making them face the wrong wayâfound that sun-facing flowers are visited by five times as many pollinating bees. All that back-and-forth sun-tracking behavior doesnât last forever. It only happens with youthful sunflowers. Once a sunflower reaches adulthoodâby which time it can be a towering 10-foot-tall plant with a flower up to a foot acrossâit ceases to waffle. Adult sunflowers settle down and stay pointed determinedly toward the rising sun in the east. Once theyâre grown-ups, sunflowers stay put. Tsar Peterâs sunflowers, back home in Russia, were wildly popular. Russian sunflower growers soon developed bigger and better cultivars both for eatingâRussians to this day love to snack on sunflower seedsâand for oil. The passion for sunflowers was encouraged by a quirk of the Russian Orthodox Church, which forbade the consumption of butter, lard, and vegetable oils during Lentâwith the notable exception of sunflower oil. In fact, in one of those twists of fate so common in the garden world, by the 19th century, gargantuan and nutritious Russian sunflowers were being imported back into the Americas. [Pee in your Garden 2] Today the prime producers of sunflowers worldwide are Russia and Ukraineâthe two collectively account for an annual 30 million metric tons of sunflower seeds and over 70 percent of the worldâs sunflower oil. In Ukraine, the sunflower has always been a national symbol. Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February of this year, a display of sunflowers has come to be a global signal of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The Washington Post calls them âa symbol of resistance, unity, and hope.â Sometimes what we grow in our gardens means more than we think it does. I believe that our beliefs arenât set in stone. Weâve always got time and options for growing, for learning, for experiencing, for changing our minds. But sooner or later, when it comes to right and wrong, we have to come down on one side or the other. We have to decide what we believe and who we choose to listen to. And thatâs whenâlike those sunflowersâwe stop shifting with the sun, dig in our heels, and face our east. â Illustrations by Christopher Reid Dear Reader, What an educational and inspiring story! And GreenPrints has published many, many informative stories just like this oneâstories that deliver you facts and inspiration, such as: - âEating the Rainbowâ (Summer 2022 issue, p. 60)
- âThe Sweet Smell of Rainâ (Spring 2022 issue, p. 36)
- âFeet, Fathoms, and Flamingosâ (Winter 2020-21 issue, p. 64)
- âTommy Tucker and Companyâ (Autumn 2021 issue, p. 46)
- âBuried Treasureâ (Summer 2021 issue, p. 52)
- âHere Comes the Sunâ (Spring 2021 issue, p. 56) And tons more educational and inspiring stories in our Libraryâand coming up in future issues! Please read what some subscribers say about how GreenPrints affects their lives: âIt's my ONE thing I can grab to read and escape, laugh, and learn!â
âAshley Holland, Stephens, AR âI was moved to tears by Becky Ruppâs article âFollowing the Sun.â Thank you, Becky!â
âConstance Pike, Orange, MA âThank you for continuing to create the best gardening magazine ever!â
âConnie Moore, Virginia Beach, VA Including this featured storyââFollowing the Sunââyou get all 15 stories in the Autumn 2022 issue of GreenPrints with an [All-Access Membership](. Filled with stories that inspire and inform, GreenPrints also includes specially commissioned artwork with every article, to enhance the stories and entertain youâillustrations that are thought-provoking and just plain fun! Here is what one subscriber says about GreenPrints: âThank you! BEST EVER Magazine!! It's like the finding a âtreasureâ in the mailbox. Artwork is amazing!â
âJo Glenn, Port Royal, PA Here are the stories included in the Autumn 2022 issue: - âThe Chinaberry Treeâ
- âMy First Pumpkinâ
- âThe Grateful Jalapeñosâ
- âThe Smell of Flowersâ
- âFor Love and Moneyâ
- âPee in Your Garden!â
- âMy Little Chickadeeâ
- âLife Saversâ
- âAn Autumn Gardenerâs Mottoâ
- âFollowing the Sunâ
- âSlug Chugâ
- âPioneersâ
- âThe Last Tomato Storyâ
- âCats in the Gardenâ
- âChicken Plop Teaâ [Autumn 2022 Issue]( Now, you can [order your own single copy]( of the GreenPrints Autumn 2022 issue for $15, plus shipping and handling (and in some jurisdictions, you have to pay taxâyouâll end up paying more than $20 for a single copy with shipping, handling, and tax). Or, better yet, if you order today during our Early Black Friday Sale, for just $10 (no shipping or handling ⦠and no tax!), you can get [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( for an entire yearâwith a whole yearâs worth of stories in a full subscription to GreenPrints, both print and digital editions ⦠and benefits galore! [JUST $10 TODAY! GET AN 83% DISCOUNT WHEN YOU ORDER DURING OUR BLACK FRIDAY SNEAK PEEK!]( [Claim your GreenPrints All Access Membership now, and youâll get all the gardening stories to delight you, make you laugh, and fill you with heartwarming inspiration and motivation. Claim your benefits now!]( [GreenPrints all access](
[ONLY $10 FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!]( Right now, youâre eligible for this limited-time invitationâto claim a premium [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( with this Special Early Black Friday Offer. You get a full year of membership in a club that provides you all the gardening stories to warm your heart, inspire you, and make you laugh. And for only $10 right now, thatâs 83% off the regular $60 price! [Introducing GreenPrints All-Access MembershipâOnly $10 for an Entire Year!]( Your [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( has privileges and benefits that are reserved exclusively for premium members like you. [YES! I want the Early Black Friday $10 Deal!]( Summary of All-Access Membership Benefits 01 A full year of GreenPrints All-Access Membership, an exclusive club for those who want to enjoy the greatest gardening stories everâsave $50 off the annual cover price, an 83% discount! $60/year
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$10/year! 02 1-year subscription to the GreenPrints Magazine, quarterly issues filled with humorous and heartwarming storiesâin print, delivered directly to your door. INCLUDED 03 Full and immediate access to the GreenPrints Digital Libraryâyour membership includes access to the current digital magazine issue and back issues, a digital version of The Weederâs Readerâplus the library is constantly growing with new content regularly added! INCLUDED 04 Instant and unlimited access to all GreenPrints Collectionsâcurated and comprehensive collections of stories from the heart, organized around specific topics such as humor, joy, romance, mystical and healing gardens, and gardening mishaps. INCLUDED 05 FREE BONUS: The Weederâs Readerâa compilation of the sixteen greatest stories ever published by GreenPrints. You get a FREE copy mailed to you, plus instant and unlimited access to the digital version in the library! FREE [YES! I want the Early Black Friday $10 Deal!]( Become a [GreenPrints All-Access Member]( todayâwhile this special $10 offer lasts! Sincerely, [Bill Dugan]
Bill Dugan
Editor & Publisher
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