“I can’t believe how tall it has gotten,” remarked Mr John Highman, 88, of Launceston as he gazed across at his magnificent sunflowers which are now peeking out above the library’s roof.

Mr Highman moved into his home opposite Launceston Library more than 30 years ago and soon put his green fingers to use, offering to plant up a small patch of ground outside the main entrance.

This year the area is once again blooming with colour, watched over by four magnificent sunshine yellow sunflowers.

“I plant them all from seed,” Mr Highman explained. “I got some packets of seeds with my magazines and decided to plant them up. I can’t believe how tall the sunflowers have gotten though — they are huge!”

A keen gardener, Mr Highman said it must have been a good growing season as his own garden had been blooming well, with the plants in the library’s bed rivalling his own.

“It is nice for me, I can’t really see my back garden from the house — although it is doing very well out there, I have had some wonderful dark purple flower sweet peas from a local man, they are beautiful and my tomatoes have done very well — but I do get to see the plants across the road I’ve planted for the library.

“I have been doing it for 30 years, anything I have left over from my garden goes over there.

“The flowers have come out beautifully, they are all wonderful colours and I am very pleased with them. Even the hanging baskets, which the council installed, seem to be doing better now.”

He added: “It is nice, I like to sit on the bench outside the library sometimes and often hear people going past saying ‘blimey look at those sunflowers’!”

• Have you grown sunflowers this year that could possibly rival Mr Highman’s? Why not share a picture with us and readers by emailing [email protected]