Summer

— One knows summer has arrived in Texas when even sunflowers start to wither with the intense heat. A walk to my neighborhood park shows plenty of evidence about the effects of summer heat. 

That was the case this week when I walked over to see what might be blooming in mid-June. There were lots of dried plants. Even though there were several sunflowers and Turk’s cap blooming, not much else was visible around a small patch of wildflowers near the parking area. In the case of sunflowers in less direct sunlight, I could really see the beauty of these flowers, such as in the first two photos in this post.

On the other hand, those blooms in direct sunlight were suffering from the intense heat. The petals were shriveling and beginning to turn brown in some instances. The optimal temperatures for sunflowers to grow, according to The Spruce, are “between 70 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit” (21-26 degrees Celsius). Although they do like full sun, if the temperatures get over 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), then one can see leaves wilting and blossoms dropping. With only a week left in the month of June 2022, this month already had 17 days of temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). It looks like it will be a long summer.