if at first you don't succeed...

Three years in a row I have purchased sunflowers at local garden centers. They have lived a few weeks and died. It has been a completely frustrating experience to see rows of sunflowers growing in my neighbors' gardens. I first remember fields on sunflowers on a trip that the girls and I took to Austria. I thought they were incredible. This year I purchased a packet of sunflower seeds, only because it was cheaper than buying the flower later on. I confess, however, that I planted without faith or hope. Still, I planted the dozen seeds and watered and waited. Only one grew. It grew and it grew and it grew. I might mention that at this point, my sunflower is the tallest sunflower I have ever seen. Today it bloomed it's first flower, but all the way down the stalk at every leaf point, I can see the beginnings of another flower. Wow!