Kelly Kenoyer
Of The New Era
The humble giant is so tall, that even when he bows his heavy head in modesty, he’s 10 feet tall.
And the giant is turning heads in the neighborhood.
Lori McCann and her daughter Alexis Starkey planted some sunflower seeds back in April at their home on Sunset Lane.
Before long, one of them had grown to twice the height of Alexis, sixth-grader-to-be.
It only recently tipped its head over, McCann said last week, inspecting the giant flower. “I said, oh no! It’s sad!”
Still, the bloom attracts the attention of neighbors and pollinators alike.
“There was one bee that was so coated with pollen that he couldn’t fly. He was just here on the ground just covered in it and he was all trying to move but couldn’t get anywhere,” McCann said with a chuckle.
The flower is kept upright by a string tying it to the porch, with a small bit of cloth around the stem to keep it from being damaged.
“My thumb is getting a little greener every year,” McCann said.
The flower didn’t always have such a sunny outlook. When the family had to transplant the tall, handsome fellow, “He kinda fell over. He was just lying on the sidewalk,” McCann said.
But the flower persisted and soon towered over the roof of their porch.
Now the family is waiting for the seeds to ripen so they can try eating them.
McCann and Alexis say they plan to plant more sunflowers on that side of the house next year where they’ll get the most sun, and they can’t wait to see how tall those can get.