My daughter says someone painted these flowers. I couldn't imagine why someone would choose a few random flowers along the road to paint red. Researching online for information about genetic mutations brought up nothing about red sunflowers of this particular kind. Perhaps someone did have a paintbrush and dabbed a bit of paint to grab curiosity and attention from the thousands of people traversing the canyon road. In any case, it's a mystery that won't be solved unless someone comes forward and confesses this is manmade.
I'm grateful for the God-made wildflowers. What fun to see these tenacious plants growing out of gravel, asphalt, and in the worst possible ground to be found. Rainfall was abundant this year in Utah, which is unusual. This provided the opportunity for more flowers to prolificate.
I have tried growing these flowers on our property by digging up plants, getting a bunch from a friend, and taking the dried seeds and spreading them. They will not grow when transplanted. Some things cannot be forced.
Our neighbors plowed their field last year and left it undisturbed for the first time in 26 years. Their field was covered in sunflowers throughout the summer but they stopped at our property line. Not one little yellow head dared lean over to grace us with its beauty. I did enjoy those flowers but felt a bit offended that not one plant came to live on my property.
Rumi once said: "Nothing can grow here until the earth is turned over and crumbled. There can be no roses and no orchard without first this devastation."
Apparently, I must first plow my own field if I want wildflowers to take root. I'll extend that invitation for next year to those wily sunflowers. I can be just as tenacious as they are.
Go ahead, spread sunshine all over the place. I'll put on a happy face.
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| Sunflowers on Stringtown Road, Eden, Utah |
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