If you need a dose of joy from one simple outing, head to a field of sunflowers.
Earlier this month, we headed to the Kalbar Sunflower Festival and it was a visual delight.
A field of sunflowers will certainly draw out a smile. It’s truly a sight to behold.
Only an hour away from Brisbane, Kalbar Sunflowers was worth the drive out to visit.
The Sunflower Festival is usually held in March, but had to be postponed this year due to the wet weather.
The festival certainly drew out a great crowd and I was grateful to have bought tickets to months ago as it was at capacity when we arrived.
While visits to the farm are now closed for the Autumn season, be sure to put a visit on your bucket list early next year. Sunflowers bloom in Queensland from January to March.
Interesting facts about sunflowers
It was an overcast day, but breaks in the clouds allowed sunlight through. Interestingly, sunflowers follow the sun throughout the day and this behavior is called heliotropism. At dawn the flowers will face the east and they slowly face west towards the end of the day.
When looking up close to a sunflower, in the centre you will see thousands of florets. Sunflowers are thousands of flowers in the one head. We had to be careful looking up close though as there would be bees buzzing from sunflower to sunflower.
Sunflowers are also known to absorb toxins and were planted after nuclear disasters in Hiroshima, Fukushima and Chernobyl. The sunflowers would soak up radiation from the soil.
Sunflowers exude positivity
The bright and cheery colour of sunflowers can bring a positive mindset. Lord knows we need some brightness after a dim quarter the year. It’s been a challenging few years for many. While I don’t believe sunflowers themselves attract good fortune, they can certainly help one feel less hopeless and more hopeful.
Uses for sunflowers
Apart from sunflowers being a gorgeous bouquet to display in a vase in your home, there are other uses for this bloom.
- Sunflower petals are edible and can be used in salads or as a garnish
- Dried sunflower heads can be hung up from a tree as a bird feeder
- Withered sunflower heads can be used as a scourer for cleaning
