Guizotia abyssinica

Today's the day .......................... for a bit of a miracle

I'm pretty sure that the above flower bud is from a niger plant - one of a whole bunch that has grown from the birdseed, dropped from the birdfeeder above.

You know the seed I mean?  The tiny black ones, beloved by goldfinches - that you have to put in a special holder because the seeds are so small.  It says in that well-known font of all knowledge that -
' ..commercial niger seed is grown in Africa, India and other areas of southeast Asia, and the seed is imported around the world as a popular type of birdseed. Before it is imported, however, niger seed is sterilised by intense heat to prevent germination'.  
Well, all I can say, is that this lot somehow managed to survive the intense heat.

I'm hoping that they will keep growing and that the flowers will open into that characteristic yellow daisy-like flower.  And then, who knows, if they don't mind a bit of intense cold and wet, they might even produce some niger seed for me to feed the birds for the second time ......................