It has been about a year since I last blogged in my Garden Sanctuary. So much has happened since then and I have learned so much about my little sanctuary while nurturing and tending to the things that nature has afforded me to grow.

The sunflowers standing tall along the fences are so irresistible with their bright yellow faces, looking towards the sun. They stand tall like giants over the tall privacy fence to show off their beautiful and happy faces to the neighbors and passers by.

While they race towards touching the sun the butterflies, and other garden visitors lingers as they gather nectar from the large yellow faces.

Pictured here is a monarch butterfly resting peacefully swaying in the slight wind, the hot Mid-West sun beaming down while she takes a long drink. Every few minutes the butterfly wings would sway back and forth opening to display the indescribable beauty of it’s wings.

This past week we were showered with plenty of rain that offered up much tonic to the thirsty earth. They did not withstand the hard wind as well by signs of their bowed heads as they knelt to almost touch the ground. Planting them next to the fence where I can offer them some support was a good idea. With plant strings in hand and cord I was able to raised their heavily bowed heads and stabilized them by tying the large stalks to the fence to keep them from topping over.  It was too late for a very tall handsome plant that managed to reach the heights of twice the six feet privacy fence.  Despite the tree breaking in half it still managed to send new branches and started it’s journey reaching towards the top again, but this time with several other branches in tow. It’s amazing how a plant can grow in just a week.

My daughter was intrigued by the tallest sunflower sitting in the garden, that she did a video, comparing the height of the plant to more than twice her height. She assumed the plant was at least eleven (11) feet tall. I will have to take a picture to share with you soon.

[picture coming soon]