Wigan mum's sunflowers are blooming massive!

Becky Chew has enjoyed planting the bright yellow flowers each summer for around 15 years and seeing them grow.

She even gives the plants to members of her family so they can have competitions to see how tall they get.

But she says this is the first time the sunflowers have reached such a towering height in the garden at her home in Tyldesley.

Becky, 39, said: “I haven’t had them this tall before. I did quite well last year, but I got lots of flowers. This year they are really tall and I was really impressed.

“I don’t know what has made them so tall. I give them lots of water and people say ‘why are you downing them?’ but I’m not, they’re growing. That’s the only thing I can think of.

“With the weather we have had, they have probably grown a couple of inches in the bad weather.

“They are probably at their tallest now because they are starting to flower.”

Planting the sunflowers and watching as they grow has become an annual tradition for Becky, her four children, her grandson and the wider family.

She said: “I have been growing them every year. At the beginning of the summer I plant them, starting them as babies in pots, and transfer them outside.

“I normally give them out to my nephews and nieces as well.

“I grow them and take care of them and they get checked on every morning and evening. A bit of Miracle Gro and my love and attention every day.”

Becky loves growing the sunflowers each year and has also tried her hand at nurturing fruit and vegetables in her garden.

She said: “I have got cabbage as well and strawberries. I grew pumpkins last year and we used them at Halloween to give out to the kids and they carved them.”

For now, the family is enjoying seeing how tall the sunflowers can grow and looking forward to their bright yellow petals blooming.

While 12ft is certainly tall, there are records of sunflowers growing to even greater heights.

According to Guinness World Records, the tallest sunflower measured 30ft 1ins (9.17m) and was grown by Hans-Peter Schiffer in Karst, Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany in 2014.

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