April 27, 2011

From Russia with Love


Russia is known for it's Sunflowers and this one that I photographed and then added an Iris filter to  makes me think of the destruction from the Chernobyl disaster - nature has a way of coming back no matter what!!!

Russian Czar Peter the Great discovered the sunflower while on a trip to Holland and began one of the world's first large cultivation programs. The Russian Orthodox Church increased sunflower popularity when it forbade most oil foods from being consumed during Lent. Sunflower was not on the prohibition list and thus gained immediate popularity as a food. In the early 19th century, farmers in Russia were growing over 2 million acres of sunflowers. By 1880, the sunflower had found its way back to the United States and seed companies were advertising the "Mammoth Russian" sunflower seed in their catalogs.

1 comment:

  1. This is really beautiful! The picture is amazing, but the filter just takes it to the next level!
    Morgen

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