Regarding sunflowers, British actress Helen Mirren says, “I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower. For me that’s because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.”

Every year, I seem to find a field of sunflowers to photograph. And every year, I wish I had taken more time with this wonderful flower.

The sunflower was my Aunt Eloise’s favorite flower. Part of the reason for this, I’m sure, is the fact that she and my mom grew up on a small farm in Newnan, Ga.

Nothing says summer and the south like a sunflower.

Sunflowers love to grow in families and best of all they bloom where they are planted.