There is no denying the aesthetic value that sunflowers bring to a garden. Known for their height and colossal flowering heads, these beauties are cheerful and eye catching. But are these plants just a pretty face? I’m convinced that’s not the case. These dazzling plants have a long list of benefits that make them a hearty contributor and strong contender for any growing patch.
Firstly, they feed pollinators. Having a row of sunflowers in your garden is pretty much the equivalent of opening an all-you-can-eat buffet for bees. And did you know that they’re allopathic? This means that they are a natural weed suppressor. Although the downside to this is that they can negatively impact plants that you do want to grow, some thoughtful plant placing will immediately solve this, leaving you with an easy-to-manage veggie patch.
You likely already have a second tab open on your internet browser and are in the process of ordering sunflower seeds for your own garden, and I applaud you for this, but hold on - we’re just getting started. Sunflowers naturally detox contaminated soil. They were even used after the Chernobyl disaster to pull cesium and strontium from soil and ponds near the disaster sites.
Another benefit: Did you know that sunflowers attract aphids? You might think this is a bad thing but if you cleverly place these giants on the edge of your garden, they pull those little pests away from the veggies. Seeing as sunflowers also attract birds (some of which, like hummingbirds, eat aphids), you are simultaneously feeding the birds.
Okay, now that we’ve talked about all of the little friends you’ll be feeding by growing these beauties, let’s talk a bit about the benefits they bring to your own kitchen.
Sunflower seeds are an obvious win when it comes to harvesting this flower. They are a healthy source of Vitamin E, Vitamin B1 and B6, Iron, Copper, Selenium, Manganese, Zinc and Potassium. Not bad for a teeny tiny seed! They also help with inflammation and have been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Awe, they’re good for your heart - how cute. The oil from these miracle mammoths, extracted from the black variety of seed, also have similar health benefits as well as being good for hair and skin.
Now, the eating of sunflower seeds has been around for thousands of years. Essentially since the start of the flower itself, which is native to North America. However, despite there being some evidence that early indigenous peoples extracted the seed’s oil (for medicinal purposes or the production of something similar to bread), the history of these flowers as oil producers doesn’t really hit its high until they were pulled from their comfort zone and brought to new territory.
Sunflowers were initially introduced to Europe by Spaniards around the year 1500, but oil extraction wasn’t high on its list of uses. Near the turn of the 19th century, though, something flipped and by 1830, the production of sunflower oil was done on an industrial scale.
This is largely due to Russian influence and the interaction they had with this species of plant. Hilariously, this boom started as a result of a ban. The Russian Orthodox church had published a list of substances that were banned during the period of lent. This list included a number of foods and various oils and fats. Sunflower oil was omitted from that list and thus began the mass consumption and production of this heart-happy product.
Demand for this product grew substantially and before long, the countryside had turned yellow with more than 800,000 hectares of sunflower crops between Russia and the Ukraine. Research programs were developed to take this product to the next level and in 1912 a young man named Vasilii Stepanovich Pustovoit walked through the doors and changed the history and production of sunflowers forever.
Pustovoit began focusing on isolating desirable traits in sunflowers, like high oil content and high yield. He bred the plants for these specific characteristics. It is because of him that we have the modern varieties of sunflowers that you can find growing across North America and Europe today. In fact he was so essential to the growth and development of the sunflower that there is an award named after him. Receiving this award is considered the highest honour to an individual working in the sunflower industry.
It’s humbling to look at a garden and think that each plant could have a story like this. A history and a secret store of benefits that we don’t see at first glance. How many plants do we write-off without knowing their whole story? Would you despise a daffodil if you took the time to learn more about it? Like with so many things, there is no “better” when it comes to flowers, only different. When I stand next to the sunflowers in my garden, I look up in awe. Not only because they physically tower over me, but because it amazes me that this beautiful sun-seeker has so much going for it and so much history that can so easily be overlooked. There is no question that these plants are so much more than just a pretty face.
