My Strange Little Obsession with a Sunflower

I've never been a plant person. I've dabbled in growing basic, low-maintenance blooms, but managed to kill them all, until....

When my daughter finished school for the May half-term she came home with a small pamphlet. It was smaller than my palm, insignificant. More paper to recycle—I thought. I almost threw it straight in with the cardboard, went to in fact, but noticed a scantly filled packet of seeds attached.

The assignment printed on the leaflet read: Grow a sunflower this…