A Fine Summer for Sunflowers

I've planted tall sunflowers for the past four or five summers and have had no such success as this year.


 They're in full sun in my neighbor's field and that probably accounts for some of their improved status.


  We have very little space with full sun in our yard, but I once had 2 plants that grew really well.  This year I have fourteen plants in the field that are doing wonderfully and just now starting to open up to their flowers; and another 5 in the semi-sun of my yard that are pretty tall but not budded yet.

In any case, although the flowers are not enormously gigantic, the stalks themselves are record making in my view.  Easily 11 feet tall.  That's 8 kale plants at the bottom right.  Not record-making, I'm afraid.