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'Sunflower whisperer' raises spirits in care home

John Devine/BBC Guy Tyers, 56, with a stubbly unshaven face, short cropped grey hair and dark tinted glasses in front of part of the Fairhaven care home in Soham with his 3.6m tall sunflower, which he talks to, to encourage growthJohn Devine/BBC
Guy Tyers says his sunflower was "head-and-shoulders the tallest one in the competition", being almost double the size of others

A care home worker has been dubbed the "sunflower whisperer" for talking to his plants every day.

Guy Tyers, 56, from March, Cambridgeshire, even won an prize for growing a 3.2-metre (10.5ft) sunflower, which has since shot up to 3.6m (11.8ft).

Depending on the variety, the RHS says the plants can reach heights up to 4m (13ft).

Mr Tyers, a maintenance man at a Fair Haven Care Home in Soham, said he had been growing sunflowers since he "was a nipper", but this was his biggest to date.

John Devine/BBC Guy Tyers with short grey hair, stubble and dark tinted glasses. He is standing in front of a brick wall, which is part of the Fairhaven care home in Soham. Behind him is his 3.6m (11.8ft) tall sunflower with multiple heads.John Devine/BBC
Guy Tyers with his towering 3.6-metre (11.8ft) sunflower. His secret - talking to the plant, to "gee it up to reach the heights"

"My work colleagues think I am a bit crackers," said Mr Tyers.

"Every morning when I get in to work I just have a few quiet words with my sunflower, things like 'pull your finger out' and 'come on reach them heights'", he said.

Fair Haven residents planted sunflower seeds in the spring and Mr Tyers was responsible for planting out the blooms and looking after them from June.

His tallest bloom recently won a contest between 60 care homes across the East, held by an agency called Nurse Plus, with judging taking place between late August and early September.

One of the care home residents, 82-year-old Ann Holmes, originally sowed the seed for the tallest sunflower.

Guy Tyers A large sunflower with yellow head and green stalk and leaves stands well above three or four other sunflowers beside a building, the tall one goes beyond the guttering of the Fairhaven care home in Soham.Guy Tyers
Mr Tyers says that he spoke to his sunflower whenever he could, giving it words of encouragement which he says seemed to do the trick
Cheri Gardiner Ann Holmes is 82 and has shoulder length white hair, she is smiling and is holding a sunflower to her left. She is pictured wearing a yellow cardigan and is a room with a mustard coloured wall.Cheri Gardiner
Care home resident Ann Holmes sowed the seed of the biggest sunflower produced this year

Mr Tyers said his parents gave him his love of growing sunflowers and he had been nurturing them for at least 50 years.

"Years ago, when he was Prince Charles, our current King advocated talking to trees and plants, so I suppose I took inspiration from him because you can't get a better recommendation than that," he said.

Mr Tyers said when people found out he talked to his sunflower, "they started calling me the 'sunflower whisperer' and it seems to have stuck".

John Devine/BBC Guy Tyers, 56, with a stubbly unshaven face, short cropped grey hair and dark tinted glasses he has a black t-shirt and is in front of abuilding in the communal garden at the Fairhaven care home in Soham with his 3.6m tall sunflower, which he talks to, to encourage growth behind him.John Devine/BBC
Guy Tyers says it is the biggest specimen he has grown in 50-years of raising sunflowers

Cheri Gardiner, a manager at Fair Haven, said residents were "thrilled" with the progress of the sunflowers.

"I think Mr Tyers did an incredible job with his pep talks to the winning sunflower, it has raised smiles and brought so much joy to our home, he really is our own 'sunflower whisperer'," she said.

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