"I've never met a sunflower I didn't adore. Not only does their boundless energy and exuberant colour suggest indomitable optimism but they have a strong association with the master of all creativity, Vincent Van Gogh. They congregate alone or in groups, standing tall and slender, their faces following the sun, backs to the shade. Who wouldn't want to be a sunflower? As if these qualities weren't enough, when they have sung their song, they die with dignity. Not for them the untidy sprawl of a bank of sapless daffodils. Nor will they drop their petals like the weary and disenchanted lily. They simply bow their heads, slowly and with humbling grace and await the inevitable."  Valda Bailey