Since my dad had his bone marrow transplant, our family has felt a special tie to the Sunflower Foundation. The foundation is responsible for raising funds that go towards bone marrow type testing, increasing the number of South Africans listed on the bone marrow registry and, thus, allowing people (via doctors) to find potential donors they wouldn't previously have had access to. Needless to say, sunflowers remind us of this amazing foundation and of the journey we've been through with my dad's and the successful treatment of his leukemia. We're so lucky to have him with us!!

Last year, Jake and I successfully grew a few sunflowers in pots. This year, we have a proper patch to work in, we decided to plant a few more. They've grown beautifully and are so much taller then last year's potted ones. Next year I'm going to convince Jake that we need to get a whole lot more planted!! The first flower opened last week and there are a few more that are going to open over the next few days. I just love their bright cheeriness when I open my curtains in the morning. Thanks to my macro lens, we've realised just how stunning, complex and utterly beautiful sunflowers really are...

This bee spent a lot of time hovering over the sunflower over the weekend. He/she was huge (like 2 - 2.5cm big!) and at first I was worried that it was a queen, but realised that queens don't do dirty work...