Neighbours in Nantwich have helped a family grow these impressive 4-metre high sunflowers!
The towering blooms have become a popular sight for residents living on the Malbank Waters development in Nantwich.
Seeds were planted just six months ago by Sarah Johansen, her husband Andreas and children Oscar and Ellie.
And ever since, neighbours have been helping them regularly water the flowers which now stand tall and proud.
The tallest – called George after one of four-year-old Oscar’s friends – now measures more than 385cms.
And the success has taken the family by surprise.
“We hope they’ve brought as much joy to all the neighbours who have hardly been able to avoid looking at them as they have to us,” said mum Sarah.
“Oscar has enjoyed inviting his friends round to see them.
“We recruited our lovely neighbours to water the sunflowers over the fence during our summer holiday.
“Carol is often helping with her trusted watering can.”
Neighbour Carol added: “Watching George grow and seeing his faces appear over the fence has been a delight.”
The journey began back in early April when the family joined a new Facebook group called “Nantwich Veg Growers”.
“A lovely chap was giving away sunflower seeds that he’d harvested from his plants last year,” said Sarah.
“We planted the seeds in little seed trays on the kitchen table.
“We only had some basic compost so assumed they wouldn’t grow too big. Little did we know!
“Oscar loved planting the seeds, so much so he planted 60 of them.
“There was a moment when we wondered what we’d do with 60 giant sunflowers but then only seven actually germinated! Of those, five went to the slugs.
“We built some raised beds last year and managed to get some sunflowers to reach the top of the fence but we’re very much novices when it comes to growing!”
The family has been inspired by both the Facebook group and Millfields Primary School and Nursery where Oscar attends pre-school.
“Millfields school is really big on vegetable growing,” added Sarah.
“This year they created a vegetable garden in a corner of the field and grew lots of vegetables.
“In the spring, Mrs Crawford, the nursery class teacher, sent all the children home with little sunflower plants.
“With everything going on in the country right now I think it’s easy to forget that we’re living through a global climate crisis.
“I think it’s great the local community are rallying together to make it easier to grow fruit and veg in
the garden – it’s a small step but it’s part of a bigger weapon in the fight against climate change.
“Gardening plays a big role in moving the country towards a cleaner, safer, more sustainable future so it’s fantastic that our local school and community groups are inspiring the next generation to embrace nature in the way that they are.”
There is a community ‘climate walk’ taking place on Saturday October 30 at 10am from Reaseheath to Coed Wen, to coincide with the global climate summit taking place in Glasgow.
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