TWO COUPLES have grown what could possibly be the tallest sunflowers in Dorset.

Paul Kunzli lives with his wife Lin in Broadstone where they unknowingly planted a sunflower plant measuring around a whopping 16 feet.

He first planted the seeds back in May, not realising how much they would expand upward.

The 69-year-old said: “My wife got a pack of seeds from a subscription to the Gardener's World magazine.

“There were sunflower seeds in there, I planted all five and they've all grown, but that one has grown bigger compared to the rest.

“The tape measure blocks over because it's so tall.”

The reason for the abnormally tall flower may be down to the garden itself.

Paul added: “Our garden slopes down and the seed was planted further down the garden, so it either got a bit more rain or because it looked higher down.

“So maybe it thought, 'I've got to grow bigger than the others because they're higher up than me'.

“Even though it's the tallest sunflower, it’s got the smallest flower of all of them. But it's getting bigger now, especially this rain we're getting.”

Brian Perkins, 84, and his wife Vanda, 70, have also unexpectedly grown a huge sunflower.

The retired couple from Ensbury Park, who founded maintenance and repair business Perkins Motors Limited, have also grown an enormous 16ft sunflower.

The seeds were a gift from a relative.

Vanda said: “My husband's sister-in-law had some in her garden, she saved the seeds and gave us two plants that were a few inches tall.

“We popped them in the garden, and they took off and they look bright as well.”

Vanda’s husband is an avid gardener.

Vanda added: “I can't remember how long our old garden was, but it was ridiculous.

“It was like four gardens long. Then my husband bought half of next door's garden just to use for vegetables.

“It gets to the stage where there's just too much garden to cope with. So, this is the ideal size now. Keeps him occupied enough and he enjoys it.”