RETIRED Telecoms engineer Chris Haynes has been turning heads with his new sunflower.

The surprise arrival at his home in Wootton near Abingdon now has 24 blooms on it – from just one stem.

“I didn’t plant it — it just appeared by the gate in our back garden over the past couple of weeks,” said Mr Haynes, 72, who lives with wife Lorna, 75.

The father-of-two and grandfather added: “I’m not an expert gardener – I’ve got a few roses, but this arrived out of nowhere, so it’s a real gift from nature.

“I have counted 24 sunflower blooms so far and I water it every day.

“I gather taller sunflower plants sometimes only have one bloom, but the hybrids can have multiple blooms.

“This plant is about 5ft 5ins tall so it’s not the tallest, but I think it’s quite impressive.

Mr Haynes said he had been phoning his friends to tell them about the sunflower and planned to put it on Facebook too.

In 2009 Gordon Davis from Staverton, Gloucestershire, told how he had grown a sunflower plant with 104 blooms.

Freddie Matthews, seven, from Wheatley, has also been growing sunflowers.

Freddie lives with his mother Lisa at his grandparents’ home in the village and grew a dozen sunflowers in the back garden.

Oxford Mail:

  • Freddie with his flowers grown from seeds

Grandfather Tom Matthews, 72, who used to sell caravans, said: “Freddie grew the plants from a 99p packet of seeds.

 

“They took about three months to grow and some of them have got some quite big heads on them.”

Freddie, a pupil at Wheatley Primary School, said: “I enjoyed planting the sunflowers, watering them and watching them grow.”

  •  Have you grown a spectacular sunflower? Can you boast better buds? Please call the Oxford Mail newsdesk on 01865 425445

 

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