Photo Feature: Little Girl Grows Big Sunflower

A little girl in the Phoenixville area got a big surprise this summer when a small seed sprouted into a giant sunflower.

Bridget Gauntner, 7, planted the sunflower seed on April 23 at Lakeshore Learning in King of Prussia.

She brought it home in a peat pot and cared for it inside for about three weeks until it sprouted. It was about 5 or 6 inches high when she and her family planted it outside their front door in May.

"We watched the flower take off and the basic reaction was ... WOW! Many people stopped to ask if it was a weed, or what we were growing," Bridget's mom Erin Gauntner said. "Before the head broke off it was close to 11 feet tall.”

Erin took pictures of it before it bloomed when it was 10 feet tall. Bridget is in the picture, standing 3 feet, 8 inches tall. The head of the flower weighed eight to 10 pounds and was about 6 inches thick at its base. They did plant a few more as part of a Girl Scout project but the only one still standing hit a mere 6 to 7 feet tall, unimpressive for a sunflower.

Bridget and her mom saved as many seeds as they could and are planning to plant many of them next spring.  

“We also hope to enter a specimen in the Kimberton Fair since now I know that you can do that,” said Erin. “We also would like to harvest and roast the seeds as Bridget really likes to eat them.”

The massive sunflower served a a jumping off point for learning more about nature, as well.

“[Bridget] definitely is more interested in learning about why and how things grow, as well as my other three children. It was something we talked about all summer and hope to do it again next year,” said Erin.

A living example that sometimes little things, done with great love, can take on a life of their own.