In the Garden ~ Sunflowers

 

 

               If you have recently driven by The Oaks Bed and Breakfast, and caught sight of our garden, you will easily be able to see that we love flowers.  All kinds of flowers are in bloom right now and we cannot seem to get enough.  Today for “In the Garden” I wanted to focus on the Sunflowers.  Now I’m the first to admit that when we planted these beauties the first year I thought they were going to be these beautiful, three foot tall or so  flowers that we could use to do cut flower arrangements for the rooms.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think they would grow to be what they are today. 

 

               I’m sure a lot of their height and proliferation is due to cross pollination.  After all the pollinating insects love our flowers.  You can find bees, butterflies and other winged insects flying around the garden finding all the best places to gather up pollen and spread that goodness around.  Our sunflowers have taken on a life of their own and I can only hope that they continue to do amazing as the years progress.

 

               This year I was a little more intentional with my flowers, believe it or not, and actually planted some new varieties.  Alas, I only see one new variety growing this year, and I partially think that is due to a huge rain that happened right after planting.  I think the water washed the beds out a little too much and then the birds swooped in to claim the uncovered seeds.

 

               Needless to say, the majority of our blooms are return plants from self-seeding.  We still have a few varieties that growing, I just wish from previous years, I had labeled them a little better when saving seeds from the heads.   This year, I will be much more intentional with my system for seed saving so that I can produce a larger variety of blooms for guests and neighbors to enjoy. 

 

               Sunflowers have a short growing season each year, right at about 2-3 months.  As you watch them grow you can see how the heads follow the sun throughout the day.  Nature is truly amazing to watch and experience at how it adapts and changes as time progresses.  So much so, that once the heads are fully developed they will face down and east permanently to protect the seeds from solar radiation. 

 

               Since their growing season is so quick you can direct sow seeds every few weeks to ensure you have flowers all season long and into the fall.  Many people who have pastures can plant sunflowers to attract wildlife such as dove, to prepare for hunting season later in the year.  Sun flowers provide food for wildlife and pollinators alike throughout the dryer summer months, and can help support your actual garden that you use for food.

 

               You can grow a variety of sunflowers in your garden depending on what you are looking to support.  Cut flowers have been engineered to not leave any messy pollen behind and come in a variety of colors.  The size of the heads vary from 3 inches to 12 inches depending on the type of flower.  One of the best things about growing sunflowers is their ability to return macronutrients to the soil. 

               Some of the varieties that we have are Honey Bear sunflowers, that have more petals in the center than traditional sunflowers.  Three of our traditional sunflowers are Chocolate Gold, Little Becka, and Strawberry Blond among others.  Our smallest producing flower is the Mexican Sunflower, that blooms out a beautiful reddish orange bloom.  These are prolific and I secretly want to spread them along the roadside of county roads to help increase the pollinator population.

 

               If you have never tried to grow sunflowers before, just toss some seeds out or get a bird feeder along with feed that has black oil sunflowers in the mix.  Move it around your yard and see what pops up.  You will not be disappointed in your sunflower production.