AT 15 FEET high, Denise Higgins reckons her sunflower is one of the biggest of the summer.

Mrs Higgins, 58 and husband Peter, 59, of St George's Close, Dorchester, planted their seeds in June and have watched while their sunflowers reached skywards. But, there is no secret to getting a plant this tall, says Mrs Higgins.

"They were just normal seeds and I haven't done anything special to them," she said. "The only thing I can think of is that I put them in the place where there used to be compost. They've got so big now that we've had to put sticks on them to keep them up."