“What the hell is wrong with you, Neil?” my unsubtle editor Edgar Reewright shouted into the phone a couple of weeks ago. He had called moments earlier with a special request — he wanted me to compose a story about sunflowers — and I had balked at the idea. “I mean, what do you have against sunflowers? Just about everybody likes sunflowers, right? Right. Furthermore, if they were good enough for Vincent van Gogh, who, unlike yourself, was a genius, then they damn well are good enough for you.”
“Neil,” Edgar continued, “have I ever asked anything of you before? Other than demanding high payments to compensate me for the extraordinary pains I take to make your writings intelligible, the answer is no. I haven’t been myself the last few weeks, so a bright, cheerful piece about the sunniest of flowers probably will boost my spirits. Write it!”
“Listen, Edgar,” I said. “I’ve got nothing against sunflowers. On the contrary, I love them. I mean, they’re just adorable. Big and grinning, and their gangly stalks are so improbable. They’re like dogs that want nothing more than to please you, that know they’re goofy and would have it no other way.”
“So, what’s the problem, Neil?”
“Well, it’s just that I’ve written quite a few nature-related articles the last several years. I don’t want to overdo it, you know.”
“Overdo it? Neil, you can’t go wrong with nature. And I highly doubt if you have anything better to write about right now, anyway.”
“Oh yeah? Listen, Edgar, I’m planning to do a piece on the wonders of napping. I’ll explore its ins and outs: how I position my head just so on the living room sofa before nodding off, for instance. And how I awake 10 or 15 minutes later with glazed eyes, uncertain where the hell I am. Edgar, I’m one hundred percent certain that the readers of that article will be enthralled. My exciting revelations will have them panting for more.”
A few seconds passed. And then Edgar had this to say: “A short while ago I asked, ‘what the hell is wrong with you, Neil?’ And I was right on the money, because a better question hasn’t been posed anywhere in the world today! Napping? You’ve got to be kidding me! Listen up, haven’t I always strived to help you create agreeable product?”
“Yes, that’s very true, Edgar. I don’t know how you do it, but you whip my reportage into decent shape.”
“Thank you, Neil. Even though I’ll never figure you out, I have to admit that anybody who unashamedly uses a clunky word like reportage in conversation can’t be all bad. Okay then, I strongly recommend that you drop the napping idea and move on to sunflowers. Are we on the same page?”
We were.
Thus, during three walks in the latter half of July, in my neighborhood and in nearby towns, I kept an eagle eye out for sunflowers, and found about 15 homes on whose grounds they were displayed. Having strolled past hundreds of houses, though, I was a bit surprised by the low percentage that carried this form of joyful flora. But little matter. Every sunflower that I saw smiled at me. They truly were glad to see me, and the feeling was mutual.
But you know what? Despite the time I spent with real-life sunflowers, I have to admit that I much prefer a particular Vincent van Gogh sunflower painting over them. Vincent painted sunflowers a dozen times, and one of those oils hangs within the Philadelphia Museum Of Art, where I have passed hundreds of hours. (I’ve lived in Philadelphia or its suburbs for most of my adult life.) It very well might be the most popular art work in the museum. It certainly is one of mine.
Vincent had the abilities to find the hearts and souls of his subjects, to bring his subjects alive in both traditional and unexpected ways. And he did exactly that when he painted the canvas in question in 1889. It is glorious and imbued with vigor. It has deep stories to tell. Sunflowers never have looked so good.
(My editor has been getting on my frigging nerves big-time. So, you know what? F*ck him! I won’t allow Edgar to edit this article. I’m going to press the Publish button right now. Please don’t be shy about adding your comments. Mucho gracias.)
Yeah, Another Blogger 
this is one of the most joyful, buoyant posts you’ve written, Neil: the description of the sunflowers is a gem: it’s going in my commonplace book; your editor should be very proud of this piece of ‘reportage’ 🙂
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Thanks, John. Sunflowers are cool!
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Sunflowers are underappreciated by many folks. I’ve long been fascinated by them. Their heads follow the Sun, plus they have tasty seeds.
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You know, I’d forgotten about sunflower seeds. I haven’t had any in eons.
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Sunflowers are wonderful and your description of them is lovely. Thank you for deciding to write about them rather than napping. That is, either actually napping or writing about it (although I would like to hear about this head position some time 😉 ).
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I haven’t discarded the napping idea. I might write that story yet!
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Good photos and thoughts, Neil. Edgar was right!
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I hate to admit it, but he was.
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I have to agree with Edgar baby “you cant go wrong with nature”.
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You’re going to give Edgar a swollen head!
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I love this post and sunflowers. We have a sunflower maze near where I live. Sunflowers always make me smile and lift my heart.
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A sunflower maze! That’s outstanding.
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You don’t need editing, every word is perfect!!!
Thank you.
Joanna
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Hey, I appreciate that a lot. Many thanks., Joanna.
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Love your sense of humor 🙂
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Appreciated!
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Love sunflowers also one Vincent painted
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We’re lucky that the Philadelphia Museum Of Art owns five or so of van Gogh’s works. He was great.
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Edgar IS right – you can’t go wrong with nature! This and sunflowers are delightful!
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I’m glad that I followed Edgar’s advice. Hi, and thanks for stopping by.
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Well, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know I agree with Edgar about nature…it’s da bomb. And Vincent was a huge fan of nature as well. I almost wrote about him a couple weeks ago when I went to see one of those immersive digital exhibitions in Detroit. It was an amazing experience to have his works projected (and animated) on the walls and floors all around me. Thanks for paying tribute to sunflowers today!
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A few years ago a fabulous and unusual movie about van Gogh came out. It’s called Loving Vincent. Very much worth watching, if you haven’t already.
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Sunflowers are wonderful. You can never have to many.
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You’re right. I’d love to see a field of them.
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There used to be a commercial grower out where our daughter lived. It was amazing to see a huge field of them.
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That’s great, Neil, I really like that, sunflowers as big gangly, eager-to -please dogs. Maybe send a bouquet of them over to your editor, make nice, he’s just trying to help, like Van Gogh, you should maybe lend him an ear.
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That’s the best pun I’ve heard in a good long while!
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Having had acresof them when living in France I now find they are appearing on Costa Rica…am I being stalked?
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Acres of them! I wish I had seen that.
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It’s a wonderful sight on a sunny day.
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The wonders of nature are so abundant that you could write about them in every column. That’d be alright with all us tree-huggers. Nicely done.
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Hi, Denise. You’re absolutely right about nature. There’s no overstating how infinitely incredible nature is.
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And who said there’s nothing new under the sun…flower. Nicely done.
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Debra, you’ve got a way with words! Thanks for visiting. See ya.
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Add me to the “you can’t go wrong with nature” camp. But your thoughts about Van Gogh were oh so true.
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He was something else. He’s probably the world’s favorite artist, and for good reason.
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Napping vs sunflowers–I gotta say. Edgar was spot on, Neil.
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What? You don’t want me to write about napping?
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Ooops. That came out wrong. Need to go back to writer’s school…
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Hi, Jacqui. Hey, I was only kidding around. Take care.
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Grinning…
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Suddenly I have this desire to play Don McLean, and I have no idea why. 🙂 – Marty
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He probably sings that song at every one of his shows. His audiences would be very upset if he didn’t.
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I could certainly give you some pointers in the napping department, Neil—what with my current medication regimen.
Your take on sunflowers, however, is strictly your own—and it’s pure delight. I think you’ve hit on something universal. One of my favorite travel experiences occurred on an overnight train ride from Budapest to Slovakia. We awoke to the sight of fields and fields of sunflowers—their pert heads grabbing the first morning rays. Spectacular!
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Ah, you very much were in the right place at the right time.
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Hey there Neil,
Check out the tune “Sunflower” by Neil Diamond = That makes two Neils talking about sunflowers.
Have a great day. jerry
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Hi Jerry. Here’s something else that he and I have in common: we both were born in Brooklyn.
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I don’t know why, but I’ve never been much of a lover of sunflowers. Without a doubt, Van Gogh gave them so much light and energy that we couldn’t look away. A neighbor’s sunflower plants were all smiles until struck by the excessive summer heat. They now stand bone dry for all to see.
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High heat and droughts are huge, huge problems in so many ways. Food supplies are being badly affected, as only one example.
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“imbued with vigor.” Perfect!
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Hi Paula, and thanks.
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We can’t grow sunflowers in the backyard. Too many birds and birds adore sunflowers. It’s a shame because like Vincent, I adore them.
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He immortalized sunflowers.
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They were featured just yesterday on a local news station – who knew they came in so many colors!? They’re beautiful. And, somehow, soothing. Thanks for a great post!
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Yeah, I’d like to see them in other colors. The ones I saw in my area all were yellow.
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My wife loves sunflowers, too, and colourful coneflowers. I’m more partial to loaded corncobs!
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I’m with you. Nice, sweet corn on the cob is very hard to beat.
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Love your sunflowers! Keep right on ignoring your editor…..
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Hi Ann. I think that my region is in the midst of its prime time for sunflowers: mid-July to mid-August.
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A corner near us in Philly is occupied by a Sunoco minimart/gas station. At the edges of the property they stuck in some generic evergreens. A guy who lives around the corner volunteered to do plantings around the tall gas-prices sign at the corner, and somehow the corporate types agreed to let him go ahead. Last year he put in some giant sunflowers that competed for attention with the sign, and in their scraggliness undermined the corporate ethos. It was great. This year, though, he abandoned the giants – too much water needed – and planted smaller ones, along with hibiscus, Rose of Sharon, daylilies, and liriope. He’s still being rewarded with one free cup of coffee a day. (That is, Sunoco’s approximation of coffee.)
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Sam, I need to ask this: are you the guy in question?
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Sunflowers are one of my fave flowers. You can’t have too many!
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I know what you mean. There’s something very lovable about them.
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You can’t beat a good Van Gogh! He gets to the heart of the sunflower so that even Edgar would be redundant!
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When he reads your comments, Edgar might be insulted!
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He’ll get over it. He earns enough off your back!
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So many sunflowers in your neighbourhood – I’ve never successfully managed to grow them without the stalks falling over, sadly.
Can’t remember if you’ve been to Amsterdam but last time I was there we went to the Van Gogh museum. So many sunflower paintings and so much yellow in there. A happy place.
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Hi. I was in Amsterdam in 2016. Went to the VG museum. Great museum. Great city.
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Edgar is right about sunflowers and you are right about Van Gogh.
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For a long time I couldn’t decide if VG or Cezanne is my favorite artist. I guess I’m leaning toward VG. But then there’s Monet. Maybe he’s my favorite?
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So many decisions!
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1, Van Gogh was, indeed, a GENIUS,
2. History strongly suggests that geniuses suffer A LOT, or at the very least, have to put up with insufferable nonsense from Troglodytes. Of which, sadly, there are too many.
3. Sunflowers are the bees knees–or is it bees love sunflowers’ knees?
4. My neighbor, John, has fabulous sunflowers–every single year. If you ever get out this way, feel free to photograph them, then stop by for a drink with Ed and me on our deck.
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Hi. Thanks for the offer. You never know. Maybe one of these days . . .
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I have a desire to play devil’s advocate. Of course, I won’t though I will just add myself to the large sunflower admirers group. Large fields of sunflowers are amazing on a sunny day. Something to look forward to in summer if I find one here in NZ.
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Hey there, Suzanne. I would love to see a field of sunflowers. There’s one on a farm about 20 miles from my house. I really should go there.
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I think you should 🙂
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This week I attended the Van Gogh Immersive Experience in Ottawa where I live. So amazing. https://vangoghottawa.com/ Sunflowers, in my opinion, are best viewed from a distance and in large quantities, like a field. Love that.
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Hi, Arlene. I mentioned this to another person who added comments: the movie called Loving Vincent is very unique and amazing. It’s worth checking out. Enjoy the day. Many thanks for stopping by.
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It’s interesting how things occur “by chance.” I work in a library and yesterday I was in our DVD area and saw the Loving Vincent movie. I’d never heard of it before. Apparently it’s a Van Gogh kind of week for me, for some reason.
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I’m glad the sunflowers were smiling on you, Neil. I wish you could see the profusion of sunflowers around here. Our wet spring seems to have made most of the seeds germinate, and their golden faces are brightening our days. 🌻🌻
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It’s a good year for sunflowers!
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Very true!
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The really exciting thing is seeing a field of sunflowers. I love the Italian and French words, “girasole” and “tournesol” which mean “turn to the sun.”
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I really should go to a sunflower field. Those fields are few and far between in my region, but there are some.
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I love sunflowers. Tell Edgar to chill and go look at some.
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I’m not on speaking terms with Edgar at the moment!
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You should drop Edgar and hire my editor, Noah Noworries.
You’ll be writing happily, stress-free, with a big vase of sunflowers towering over your computer.
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You know, maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ll dump Edgar. What’s Noah’s phone number?
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I especially love how sunflowers turn their heads to keep looking at the sun. Thanks for your post.
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Hi, Evelyn. I wonder if other flowers do the same. Maybe so. Take care.
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We’ve both had Van Gogh on our minds. I suppose a trip to Philly is overdue. I was there at age six.
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Long overdue!
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Sunflowers seem to me to be the happiest of all flowers. Lovely post.
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Afternoon, Cristina. You’re right — sunflowers have a real good disposition. They’re friendly flowers.
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I am not sure if I really like sunflowers….no idea why. That said, I love all of Van Gogh’s work (even the sunflowers).
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The Barnes museum in Philly has one of the world’s greatest art collections. I was there two days ago. Saw six or seven oils by van Gogh, and loads of paintings by Matisse, Renoir, Cezanne and many other artists.
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Fantastic!
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Delightful. I love sunflowers too. In France I’ve seen fields and fields of them – an amazing sight. In London not so much. My daughter gave me a beautiful bunch the other day. They really cheered us all up.
But this week I saw something i had not seen since I was in Poland when I was eleven: whole sunflower heads the size of long playing vinyl records being sold for seeds! looked delicious – but too big to carry home in the rain!
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Hi. It would be interesting to know where the giant sunflower heads were grown.
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The relationship you have with your editor is the envy of us all. Don’t lose him anytime soon.
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Hi Dave. Edgar and I have a long history. I’ll hang onto him, at least for a while.
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It’s been a while since I managed to keep track of my blogging friends, so apologies for my absence. But, I send my thanks to your editor for nudging you in the direction of sunflowers – I agree, adorable is just the word to sum them up.
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Edgar’s judgment can be faulty, but I have to admit that he was correct this time.
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Thanks
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I don’t think your editor is as bad as you say, Neil. He actually seems quite nice, and sunflowers are a huge big deal, smiling all the time despite the human condition. ;0)
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I wish that my disposition was as good as that of sunflowers. Hi, Pam. Have a good week!
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Haha – I find you to be a very sunny 🌞 fellow, Neil. 😎
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Beautiful.
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Hi, and thanks. I appreciate it.
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Yup. Sunflowers are strong and brave. They have more courage than we do, don’t you think? Cheers, Muriel
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You know, I never thought of sunflowers that way before, but I think you’re right.
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I never thought of sunflowers looking like they’re smiling. I like that. And now that I’m thinking that way, I think they also look a little surprised.
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They’re childlike!
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