Summer is drawing to a close and I can already feel the chilled breath of Autumn in the air, so it had to be the sunflower today to remind me of holidays, balmy evenings, and the warmth of the sun’s rays on my skin.

We came across fields and fields of sunflowers whilst driving through France, in various stages of their life-cycles from young, proud and vibrant to dwindling and decaying.

I love to look at these giants of the flower world up close, with their gentle nodding heads turned shyly to the ground.

© Emily Hughes and searchingtosee, 2012