Emma, Tim and I piled into the car to chase lavender from our base in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. What we weren’t expecting were fields of sunflowers stretching alongside the road! We came across bursts of the bright yellow flowers standing at attention as we drove along the rural road between Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and Noves.
The sunflower head points east toward the sunrise. Before they bloom, motor cells in the sunflower stem tilt the flower bud to try to receive a maximum amount of sunlight throughout the day. By evening, the sunflower head is pointing west, toward the sunset. Basically sunflowers trace a 180 degree arc, tracking the sun’s position throughout the day, from horizon to horizon, sunrise to sunset. Overnight, the sunflower will reset to its original eastward position and wait for the morning, ready to follow the sun’s path once again. But once they bloom, sunflowers no longer follow the sun and are frozen into an eastward-facing position.
We pulled off to the side of the road and all the sunflowers were facing east, away from us! We walked the road between the fields scouting for a spot that we could get down into the fields and capture the sunflowers facing toward us. There was a big ditch full of pricker bushes and it was just impossible. We both gave up. It was pointless to take pictures with the sunflowers facing away from us.
And then we turned around.
We were so enchanted by the long stretches of sunflowers to our right and trying to figure out how to best photograph them, we didn’t even notice the field on the other side of the road. And of course, those sun flowers were facing east right toward us. There wasn’t even a ditch separating us from the field. Laughing, we watched the bees buzz on the sunflower heads and snapped happily away.
Note: The sunflower fields are all privately owned and like any other crop, will be harvested for sunflower seed production. Be respectful if you visit these fields. Don’t pick the flowers or trample them.
Jennifer Dombrowski
Jennifer Dombrowski is a location independent globe trotter and bases herself in Prata di Pordenone, Italy. She works as a social media and innovation strategist in higher education and is a regular contributor on johnnyjet.com. Her website, jdombstravels.com, is the 2012 Destinology Travel Bloggy Best Newcomer award winner. Google+
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We’re Jennifer and Tim and We love adventure and we love wine, so we often try to combine the two! By day, you’ll find us out on some crazy adventure like snorkeling in Iceland in winter, but by night, we’re creatures of comfort. We both work full time, so we bring you practical tips for how anyone can fit travel into their busy lives – just like us! So far, we've visited 43 countries, lived in the United States and Italy, and Tim has lived in Korea. And we do it all while both holding down full time jobs. 
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11 comments
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Jeff Titelius
July 6, 2012 at 5:00 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Absolutely stunning pics my friend!! I wish I could have been there. Your puppy looks happy too!!
Jeff Titelius recently posted..Guided Tour to the Tuscan Hilltop Town of Pienza, Italy
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
July 6th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Thanks, Jeff! Emma is always happy when she gets to come along. She sure is one spoiled pup!
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Heather
July 6, 2012 at 10:48 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
LOVE the sunflower pictures!!
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Julie
July 6, 2012 at 10:50 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
I love your blog! I see things that I would like to try, like an Agriturismo (sp) but haven’t been brave enough.
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Andrew
July 7, 2012 at 11:14 am (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Pretty pictures. We have a few sun flowers growing randomly on our street. Man they are way taller than I expected them to be.
Andrew recently posted..Holy Monastery of Grand Meteoron
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 10:48 pm
Thanks, Andy! Yes, they are very tall. But then again, I usually feel very small in comparison to most things.
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Lawrence Michaels
July 7, 2012 at 2:10 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
What a beautiful field of sunflowers. When I first saw your pictures, it reminded me of a Van Gogh painting.
Lawrence Michaels recently posted..Top Ten Phuket Beaches
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Thanks, Lawrence! While staying in St. Remy we had the opportunity to visit the asylum Van Gogh incarcerated himself in before his death. Much of Van Gogh’s inspiration came from St. Remy and its surrounds. With fields like these, it is easy to see why!
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Ali
July 7, 2012 at 4:00 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
They are so pretty! And that’s so interesting about how they move with the sun until they bloom, I had no idea they did that. Great photos!
Ali recently posted..Weekly Photo – Bora Bora
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Thanks, Ali! I feel inspired to pot a sunflower at home now so I can watch it move with the sun!
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Natasha von Geldern
July 8, 2012 at 3:49 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
How beautiful! I’ve seen sunflower fields in Italy and England and they’re hard to beat for pretty!
Natasha von Geldern recently posted..Destination Namibia: Rugged Damaraland
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