Oops – My Bad…
Hubby and I were relaxing on the Writer’s Nook on Saturday enjoying a hearty bacon and egg breakfast when he said, “I wonder how those sunflowers got into the sugar cane.”
“What sunflowers?” I asked dubiously.
“Those ones,” he said, pointing his fork out and down.
I looked over the edge and there, to my complete horror, were sunflowers growing in the sugar cane.
You may remember last year I planted sunflowers along the side of the house in the hope that the seeds would drop and I’d get a new crop. This wasn’t to be – all the seeds disappeared and I thought the birds had eaten them.
I thought wrong.
They had blown into the sugar cane field.
I found it ironic that my previous post was about weeds just being flowers that grew in places they weren’t welcome. Now I find my beautiful sunflowers have become those very weeds.
Here’s a reminder from last year (I even caught a shot of a bee buzzing around the top of the flower)
In the background you’ll see young sugar cane.
This is what it looks like now
and here is a big one (note the thickness of the stem)
Needless to say I pulled these babies out. You’ll be happy to know I finished my breakfast first (I knew you’d be worried about that).
They don’t transplant well so I’ll keep you updated on their survival/demise.
If you’re ever having a nice cup of tea with sugar and find a sunflower seed in it, think of me 😀
Have a great week!
ha! The sunflower bandit! 😉
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That’s me, Jackie! I couldn’t believe it when I saw them 😉
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Could be the birds that did the planting. They dop like to do that. 🙂
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Yikes! I wonder if they’ve carried the seeds further afield. I could have started something big here 😉
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It’s bad to have the sunflowers in with the sugar cane?
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Not really, Fen. I’m kind of joking about it a bit. It’s mainly vines that damage the cane. I just can’t believe I did everything possible to nurture them so they’d grow next to the house and they ended up moving themselves to a better location. That’s life I guess 😉
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Fingers crossed for the little transplants!
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I’m hoping so too, Naomi 😀
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Maybe you’re creating a new hybrid species. Dianne’s Suncane. The newest botanical wonder!
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Haaaaa! I love it, Carrie! Instead of putting sugar in your tea, you put a little Suncane in it 😀
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And I hear it gives us special powers too!
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I think the sunflowers are standing guard over the baby canes. Look how fiercely they watch for predators. Better look for seed lost between your toes – you might be growing sunflowers demanding pedicures. I wouldn’t mess with them.
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Hahaha – so true, Sharon. They could very well be fierce protectors! 😀
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Sunflowers are so lovely Dianne! always bring a smile to my face! I also imagine (like an earlier comment) that the birds may have something to do with this…
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Yes, the birds can be very tricky with seeds 😉 who knows where I may find more of these beauties! 😀
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If your husband asks awkward questions put the blame back on the birds and their digestive tracts. I’ll back you up, it woz the bird wot dun it.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
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LOL! That’s just too funny, David. xxx Huge Hugs back xxx 😀
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Oops Dianne the birds really did not mean to use your crop as a toilet lol. I love the way nature goes her own way and I enjoy sunflowers wherever they may be. There use to be a crop of them on our way into a town near here but sadly they are gone now. A field of sunflowers can take your breath away. But I’m sure the sugar cane farmers would not agree, I know how quickly they can spread because we had a few in the veggie patch and each year I see them pop up somewhere else. Love that photo by the way.
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Sunflowers always put a smile on my face as well, Kath. There is just something about them that lifts the heart and the spirit 😀
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Isn’t nature amazing?! And sort of perverse!
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LOL – yes! 😀
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What a beautiful sunflower, Dianne! From now on, I’ll always think of you, when I see a sunflower. They look so happy. 🙂
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Awwww – that’s so nice, Jill xxxx
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They are strong-willed flowers aren’t they? Want to grow where they want to grow. I hope the transplant takes!
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I’ve planted a few and watered them and sung to them and treated them like babies and they fail – then, they just pop up randomly in the sugar cane. They certainly are strong-willed, Jacqui! 😀
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I might purposefully put sunflowers seeds in my tea now because of you. Ha! 😀
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LOL – let me know what it’s like 😀
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P.S. Hope the sunflower move is successful. It is beautiful. ❤
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I’m about to go out and check it now – fingers crossed 😉
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oops! so sorry!
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Thanks DAF 😀
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Hahaha. That’s so funny, Dianne. I would never think of sunflowers as weeds. Hope they transplant well. I don’t have sugar in my tea. 🙂
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You’re very good for not having sugar in your tea, Sylvia. That’s why you have that fantastic figure and beautiful skin. I have way to much sugar and it goes straight to my hips 😀
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Haha, that’s so neat! A new sunflower species. I’ll let you know if I see any suspicious sunflowers poking out of my desserts. 🙂
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Hahaha – sunflower ice-cream, anyone? 😉
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Ah, yes, Diane…. the law of unintended consequences! 🙂
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I wish they grew that well in my garden. They just have a mind of their own, Peter 😉
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Aren’t you glad that we’re only talking about sunflowers and not something like…. alligators! 🙂
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YIKES! Oh yes, Peter. Sunflowers are far more friendly 😉
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ha ha a sunflower seed in the sugar 🙂 love it.
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Thanks, Annie. I might just try it and see how it goes 😉
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oh dear. they were beautiful!
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Oh yes they were – and now they’re looking very sad as replants 😦
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I think you should go for broke and plant a whole field of sunflowers adjacent to the sugar cane 🙂
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Haaaaaa – now that would be hilarious! 😀
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Those sunflower plants look so healthy and happy Dianne (it must be the extras the birds put with them!!!) but, seriously, maybe you should suggest diversifying, a whole paddock of sunflowers looks stunning…
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Absolutely! Could you imagine instead of a field of cane we had a field of sunflowers? Oh my – what a sight that would be 😀
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I drooled over, and took dozens of photos of a field of sunflowers near Allora. Did you notice the sunflowers header on my Memories blog? They where near Allora
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Oh yes – I love the sunflowers on your Memories blog header. They are absolutely glorious! 😀
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Sunflowers are crops in other countries. Can’t they share with the sugar cane. 😀
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I would absolutely love that, Suzan. What an amazing sight it would be 😉
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Lovely sunflowers! Pull out the sugar cane and leave the sunflowers! 🙂 ♥
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I think that’s becoming the general consensus here, Billy Ray! I might give it a go one day 😀
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Haha! That’s one for Murphy’s Law!
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Love it! 😀
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I love to think of you and hubby watching the sugar cane growing in the fields! When I was a little girl growing up in rural Texas, there was a small sugar cane stand across the tiny dirt road and I loved to taste it when I could sneak a bite – soooooo sweet. Alas, modernization came along and the sugar cane is now long gone. Enjoy the view – and have a bite when it gets ready…:)
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It’s actually really nice picking a stalk and having a chew on it while we’re walking, Shelia – it’s SO sweet (and don’t tell anyone, but the pack also love to have the occasional chomp on it) 😀
What a lovely memory you have of the sugar cane xxxx
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Nature does have a way of taking over! We have grass in our garden and flowers in our lawn and now we let it all go wild because we’re just too lazy. 🙂
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LOL! So true, Sheila 😉
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You should see the sunflower fields in Kansas—they are stunning when the flowers are in bloom! 🙂 Here’s hoping the sugar cane and sunflowers can find a way to be happy together!
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We’re told here to ‘share the road’, so I think it’s time for the sugar cane and the sunflowers to ‘share the field’ 😀
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Just imagine, if it had been smaller plant your hubby would not have noticed and we might be finding poppy seeds or such in our sugar.
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Absolutely right, Allen 😀
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I hear your pain, Dianne. I have “landscaping by squirrels” and have found tulips, daffodils, and other bulb flowers coming up in very weird places in our yard. Hope your babies find a happy home closer to home.
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I’ve transplanted them, but they are looking very sad at the moment, Barb 😦 Hopefully they will be restored to their former glory with some seasol and love 😉
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Is it possible that the birds dropped the seeds as they flew away? I think the flowers would look pretty in amongst the cane.
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The birds probably did drop them, but some must have blown as well (they’re in direct line with the way the wind blows – lol) 😀
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The sunflowers are wondering how the hell they ended up surrounded by sugar cane instead of all their mates. Nothing sadder I think than watching sunflowers bravely die at the end of the summer.
Anyway Dianne, final Test match starts today. I’m afraid your boys are in for another beating 🙂
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I’m not even going to watch, Roy 😉 Apparently if they lose this one they’re the only Aussie team in history to lose all test matches. Maybe we need to get some more convicts sent out to replace them 😀
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I love sunflowers too and think they’re beautiful and I plant them on our property too. So far they have remained right where we put them. You’re right about the birds and the bees and also hummingbirds love the sunflowers and even though they can and sometimes are called invasive weeds, especially by farmers, they are great for the wildlife.
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The birds and bees absolutely love the sunflowers. Once I have a bit of time on my hands I’ll plant more because they really are so beautiful 😀
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I’m constantly finding random flowers or weeds in places I know they weren’t growing before! Those birds can be rascals. But I suppose the wind could be a culprit too.
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It’s such a shame they started growing there, Kate. I’ve transplanted them but they’re not thriving. More water and plant food for them! 😀
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What a wonderful surprise to discover the sunflowers! Never a dull moment in nature, and your narratives are terrific too Dianne. 🙂
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It certainly was a surprise! Thanks so much, Cathie 😀
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I have sunflower envy! I planted about 60 of them beside our new metal building. They were supposed to grow to 12 feet in height, so I thought they would hide the stark look of the metal. Everyone else is telling me how their sunflowers are blooming and have grown so nice and tall this year. I have one that is about 6 feet tall, the rest are barely over 3 feet. And not a single one is showing signs of blooming at all!
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Oh no! It would have been so lovely for you if they had grown like they were supposed to 😦 I had one very tall one last year and they rest were quite stunted – it’s incredible how they have decided to grow huge in the sugar cane. I’ve transplanted them but they’re looking a little sad now 😉
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Dianne, why did they have to come out? I’m a sugar cane/sunflower dummy, so I don’t understand. Will they contaminate the sugar cane somehow?
How funny that you blamed the birds and it wasn’t them at all!
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They don’t actually damage the cane, but they may suck some of the nutrients out of the soil and get stuck in the harvester come harvest time (Yikes – that wouldn’t be good). I’ve replanted them now and they’re looking a bit droopy but hopefully they’ll spring back to life soon 😀
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Oh, I hope they do perk up and lift their sunny faces!
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The contrariness of Mother Nature, Dianne! Those pesky birds 😦
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Mother Nature does some tricky things sometimes! Maybe one day I’ll figure out how to keep those seeds in the ground where they belong 😀
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What a lovely surprise! Sunflowers in your sugar cane field. They’ll give a splash of colour to the field, if you leave them there:-)
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The colours were beautiful, Khaya – but I’ve transplanted them now and hopefully they’ll be springing back to normal in no time 😀
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A friend used to tell me “a weed is just a misplaced plant.” He didn’t think anything was truly a weed! 🙂
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Your friend is right, Denise! 😀
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What a funny thing! Impressive that you can tell a growing sunflower just from the green part. I would have no clue. I don’t particularly care to find a sunflower seed in my tea, but if I do, I will most certainly think of you! 😉
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I pulled most of them out but there are a few beauties now growing well above the sugar cane 😀
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I hope they bring you a smile whenever you see them.
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I saw this in my reader when you first posted, and I had to laugh. Do you suppose the soil was “sweeter” over there, so they moved themselves?
I love sunflowers and grew a patch of them many years ago. After they had died and dried, I brought a large flower into the house to harvest the seeds. I was completely horrified by all the critters that came out of that sunflower – spiders, earwigs, ants, worms, and I don’t remember what else, but there were others! For all the critters you put up with there, you are a braver soul than I!
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LOL! I giggled at this and could just imagine you bringing that beautiful flower inside and then seeing all those critters crawl out of it! Oh dear 😀
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