The last few weeks we have been out on the road with our Hot Tubs On Tour, and I have to admit, it has been a little tiring. This can be put down to the heat as well as the driving. But we have met some wonderful people, got lots of new orders, and visited some very beautiful places.
What has made the travelling so enjoyable though is the scenery. Wherever you go there are miles and miles of sunflowers. Beautiful, tall sunflowers as far as the eye can see.
Mayan Worshippers
The sunflower, or 'tournesol' in french, is a member of the daisy family, and is the largest, most popular plant from this family. They can grow up to 4 metres tall so I'm glad we don't get any of these giant daisies in our garden. Most of the ones we've seen in the fields on our tour look about 1 to 1.5 metres high. They really are breathtaking, and as they flower from June to September I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of them on our travels.
It seems that the beautiful sunflower is also extremely versatile too. The ancient Mayans worshipped the sunflower, and it was a symbol of the sun god. But they also made use of every part of the plant. They drank tea made from the leaves, and ate everything else - seeds, stems, leaves and petals!
Versatile
Sunflowers are extremely versatile and full of health benefits. Every part of the plant can be either pressed, eaten or dried. They are a good source of Vitamin E, essential amino acids, and various minerals. And also contain calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium and iron. They are an excellent nutritional supplement to everyone’s daily diet.
You only have to 'Google' sunflowers to see the many uses they have for humans, livestock and birds.
The sunflower seeds are edible and very nutritional
Sunflower seeds are one of the main ingredients in birdseed
The leaves and seeds can be used to feed livestock.
It can be pressed to make vegetable oil for cooking
It can be used in traditional herbal medicine
Sunflowers make wonderful summer bouquets!
That's only our short list. Check it out for yourself - you will be amazed.
Brighten your day
As we continue our Hot Tub tour and get out and about with family and friends, I'm sure we'll see lots more. They brighten our day like no other flower.
Sunflowers. Tall, strong and beautiful. You will have to visit France yourself next summer to see for yourself.