Celia Mayo just sits on the porch in front of them, hiding behind huge sunflowers, just watching people come and get tired.
Sometimes they stop for a selfie. They often say, “Wow!” They shout. They smile occasionally. You don’t see Mayo through the thick leaf, they smile back in silence.
Over the past few years, Mayo’s little flower sun has become a point of interest in its small eastern petaluma subdivision. People stop for a moment and walk to Luciy Park for a heartbeat.
Mayo first planted this suburban forest to feed birds and bees. But the sheer number of sunflowers growing in the soil made her front yard attractive for the whole neighborhood.
Neighbor Caroline Ditels looked out of the window in front of her and took heart.
“I always like to look out and see sunflowers,” said a native of New York, who moved to Petaluma seven years ago. “Seeing sunflowers represents hope and life and they make you feel good in our time.
He returns to the Detals House, where he picks up the Avi visitors, who stop at the huge sunflower heads to feed the Mayo seeds.
Mayo’s only touch for 15 months came from Willie, a black cat, some of whom floated as high as telephone wires and up to Mayo’s roof. Willie also likes to be paired with pink and white cosmos, black-eyed squirrels and Tima carpets in the lower part of the season.
The sunflower article also served as a way for Mayo, like her, to reach out to the long and often lonely neighbors. But it was the birds and bees that inspired Mayo to kill her dead summer grass with a straw, bring in rich soil, and create a forest for winged birds in search of suitable fodder.
I believe to a recent visitor in early August: “If we remain silent for a while, the whole set of finches will come.” “It’s great, and they have seeds in their mouths. It’s amazing. “
A little help from the birds
Petluman, 64, started her amazing garden two years ago. In that first year, she did not get much in the way of sunflowers. But last year she ordered a selection of seeds for summer flowers from Renee Garden and added about half a dozen sunflowers. It should not be replanted this year. The birds did that, looked at the flower heads that were used, and dropped seeds in the process.
“I am the only pastor. It is the earth. And she just knows what to do when she is older. ”Mayo was amazed at the magic of Mother Nature without human help. This year, sunflowers blossomed like wildfire, with some heads exploding like dinner plates and large heart-shaped leaves.
Mayo has long loved gardening, and to see the joy it brings to others. She started her school garden at McNear Elementary School in Petluma and served as a garden coordinator for four years.
“And that was amazing,” he said, marking a colorful garden with zine, spring water, grass, and shrubs.
“We started with sunflowers there,” she recalls. “We planted sunflower seeds and winter pumpkins as leaves. I wanted to plant something that works well and when the kids come back they will have something to come back to.
“It’s a gift,” she said of her trip to the garden to see people and wildlife. “I feel like I have been given this wonderful gift to share with many people and creatures. Birds and butterflies. I haven’t seen any butterflies this year, but there were a lot of bees. ”
She stood and stood beside the cosmos as the bees rolled in between the flowers. Oh, and she said a little worm. Someone will fly away soon and grab that little breakfast.
And a garden for the people
Mayo also enjoys the life of a man drawn to your garage sunflower, which begins to appear around the sunrise in the summer.
“Someone came and knocked on my door. She was about to visit my sick aunt and she wanted to bring her a big sunflower, so I cut her off. And then one day I was in the kitchen looking out the window and I saw a family and they were taking pictures of their daughter in front of the sunflowers. So I went out. ”
Another time, a woman on her way to Lucysi Park at the crossroads said: “They’re amazing!” She said. And so on. A little boy around the yard loves to come and play in the middle of nowhere. This year the crop was plentiful, Mayo pruned some sunflowers and gave the neighbors extra things for their own gardens, making her something like a Johnny Apple apple.
But for the most part, she likes to leave them alone, allowing the birds to tap their heads well into the harvest.
“He is a great neighbor to do things for people,” said neighbor Carol Zinc Mayo.
Just like the other day, I brought some flowers and a piece of tomato and went home.
Mayo, a hard-working baker and baker who loves to cook her Sephardic recipes from her aunt and grandfather, Mayo often brings food and goodies to her neighbors, including traditional Tadaliko cookies favorites.
Mayo is also a volunteer at the Petaluma Bunt Community Farm and local animal shelter.
She says her sunflower garden “makes people happy.”
He added: “And in the COVID era, we want as much happiness as we can now.
Staff Writer Meg Magonahein can be reached at 707-521-5204 or meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com. OnTwitter @megmcconahey.