A brief history of sunflowers
Fields of sunflowers are now a common – and beautiful – sight all over the world. They have inspired artists from Van Gogh to Klimt, and continue to do so in the age of Instagram, if the recent selfie craze is anything to go by and as one Canadian sunflower farm discovered. It was forced to shut after thousands of tourists seeking the perfect selfie caused chaos. An astonishing 7,000 vehicles caused a traffic jam stretching over four kilometers. But when sunflowers were introduced to Europe from the Americas in the early 16th century they were little more than garden novelties. The 16th-century English herbalist, John Gerard, was disappointed that the sunflowers in his Holborn garden in London were only 4.3 metres tall (those of his European competitors reached 7.3 metres). Today, sunflowers, with their massive, yellow flower heads are among the most recognisable plants on the planet. The growth in their prevalence – and that of sunflower selfie snaps – ...