More Top Picks Best Big And Tall Lift Chairs For Seniors
player ready...Sunflowers symbolize hope, peace and even luck for many people.
At the very least, they’re fun to look at, what with their tall stature, giant yellow flower heads and their propensity to “follow the sun.”
They make Delanie Jarczyk happy.
“Sunflowers are awesome,” said the incoming 6th-grader at Glen Crest Middle School in Glen Ellyn.
And that’s a feeling she’d like to share.
Late last winter, when suburbia was cold and drab, 11-year-old Delanie got an idea while walking through her Wheaton neighborhood.
Why not plant flowers everywhere?
“I thought about throwing seeds into people’s yards all along my walk to school,” she said. “But it’s not really OK to just throw seeds into other people’s yards.”
So she had a talk with her dad, Justin Jarczyk.
The two brainstormed and came up with what has become The DuPage Sunflower Project, an initiative that has made Delanie a bit of a social media influencer and resulted in thousands of seeds being given away across the Chicago suburban area.
“I wanted to encourage her,” Jarczyk said.
A computer programmer, Jarczyk built a website, dupagesunflower.com, and went online to order sunflower seeds and small coin packets to put them in.
Father and daughter made videos and posted them to YouTube and Facebook.
“People started emailing me,” said Delanie, who got invited to hand out seed packets at the library and her local church’s craft fair. And, of course, she handed out seeds to neighbors along her walk to school.
Jarczyk said website analytics show that the project has so far reached 32 states and 10 countries.
Delanie also was invited to meet via Zoom with Greg Bedalov, Lisa Miceli and Joy Hinz at Choose DuPage, who helped spread the word about Delanie’s mission at their regional conference.
“It was my first meeting,” she said. “My dad said I did great.”
Her mom, Alyssa Jarczyk, and little sister, Chloe Jarczyk, joined them in decorating the family Jeep with sunflowers and participating in the Wheaton Fourth of July parade. During the event, Delanie met Jim McGuire, CEO of the DuPage Event Center and Fairgrounds, which sports a field of sunflowers every year.
In September she’ll meet with the Wheaton Rotary Club to further promote the joy of growing sunflowers.
“I’m nervous but really excited,” she said.
Delanie says she is just getting started with her flower power project.
She’s also planning to develop her own sunflower hybrid, which she plans to call The DuPage Sunflower.
“I’m hoping to see sunflowers everywhere in a few years,” she said. “They help the earth and spread joy.”
Where to see sunflowers
July and August are sunflower season in Northern Illinois. Here are some places you can visit right now to immerse yourself in a field of yellow. Check websites for hours and, in many cases, purchasing options.
Matthiessen State Park, 2500 IL-178, Oglesby; 815-667-4868; www2.illinois.gov/dnr/parks/pages/matthiessen.aspx
More Top Picks Best Double Ovens
M & D Farms and Garden Center, 14946 S. Bell Road, Homer Glen; 708-935-1715; manddfarmandgardencenter.com
Stade’s Farm and Market, 3709 West Miller Road, McHenry; 815-675-6396; stadesfarmandmarket.com/pick-your-own/
Heap’s Sunflower Harvest, 4853 US Highway 52; Minooka; 815- 475-7373; heapsgiantpumpkinfarm.com/sunflower-harvest
The Wildflower Farm, 11332 West Dralle Road, Monee; 708-966-3021; wildflowerupick.com
Von Bergen’s Country Market, Route 173, Hebron; 815-648-2332; vonbergens.com
Richardson Adventure Farm, 909 English Prairie Road, Spring Grove; 815-675-9729; richardsonadventurefarm.com/SunflowerFestival/Home
Johnson’s Farm Produce, 8960 East Ridge Road, Hobart, Indiana; 219-962-1383; johnsonsfarmproduce.com/sunflower-festival/
Donna Vickroy is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.