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Monday 25 February 2008

Sunflower Madness


Are there gardeners out there that are NOT seduced in the slightest way by sunflowers ? .. is it possible ?
Even if you choose not to grow them can you ignore these gems ?
I'm no expert (can ya' guess ?) about growing anything actually .. luck is on my side for a lot of the garden to dish out its beauty for me.
Sunflowers .. my neighbor had some HUGE ones .. maybe those "Mammoth" type or the "Russian"
You could actually watch their heads turn as much as possible to face the sun .. they were stunning.
My paltry experience began with Goldfinches .. yes .. that unbelievably BRIGHT yellow beauty that we are now totally hooked on (thus the special feeders and Niger seed, which turns that part of the garden into the "black" lagoon look, but also attracting other birds to peck around for goodies) .. where was I ? .. ah ! yes .. I planted "Valentine" http://www.tmseeds.com/product/6269.html , just happens to be Thompson and Morgan seed .. and these birds went absolutely NUTS for the seeds .. even when I was cutting stray plant arms and putting them on the patio table .. they couldn't get enough of them. So .. mental note GET those kind again and I have .. I also had no idea you could eat the flower buds .. read the instructions on the site .. I was amazed !
Was my "unusual" sunflower of choice .. the dark colour is stunning and in combination against the yellows it is eye candy for sure !
Swinging from one extreme colour to the next in a pale more delicate looking sunflower .. this is my first year for these and I am really looking forward to seeing how they stand out.
A dwarf that blooms in 60 days, with a variety of colours to boot ! I need something in the front of my raised bed where the back half will be those vines I want to grow up to the deck.
This is a new one for me so again with .. I wonder how this will work out !
Another dwarf .. and yes ... aimed at kids .. so they should be fairly easy for me ?
The description says grow a Munchkin .. grow a Smile .. too cute !

7 comments:

Gail said...

Gardenjoy,

When you figure out how to grow them would you tell me how! I seem to lose them to some creature or damping off.

I was crawling around in the dirt an saw that the Sweet Alyssum is sprouting...wonder if they will make it when our temps (now 53) drops to 23 tomorrow evening. Such is the weather in the Central South!

But it's always exciting to see the seeds actually sprouting!


Gail

Aunt Debbi/kurts mom said...

Oh yes. I love my sunflowers. My shall we say, non gardening, neighbor, once pulled a "weed" out of my back garden for me. It was a sun flower and we have told him to stay in his own yard.

Aiyana said...

I didn't know until a few years ago that there were so many varieties of sunflower. As a kid, I thought they were weeds because they grew along the ditch banks, and were hairy to the touch. My sister has always grown the giant types, and last year, I did the same. This year, I'm trying one of the red varieties.
Aiyana

Val said...

Thanks for all the info. I love your blog. I will be back to visit.

Anonymous said...

A big fat YES!! I love sunflowers. I have an uncle who grows sunflowers and I must go take a pic for you this summer. It looks like fields and fields of happy faces. Thank you for the good sites and types--I'll be adding them to my favorites.

fiona said...

Hello there... yes, I'm a sunflower fan too (though limited to dwarf varieties at the moment)

Thanks for posting about these different types, I will be interested to follow their progress!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Gail !
I think most of us have a trouble plant .. mine is foxglove .. I have tried for years and all I get is the foliage .. no flowers .. I'm determined to get this mission done though .. Candy Mountain has me in love with it so I hope I can find it.
WOW !!! something sprouting ! .. I wish we had more than snow sprouting from the sky yet AGAIN !

Hi Debbi !
Isn't it funny how some one always wants to "help" us out without asking first ? haha .. everyone KNOWS better here now ! LOL

Hi Aiyana !
It is amazing how many cultivars of sunflowers there are .. and dramatic dark ones .. I grew Prada one year and it was stunning .. there is one called Claret that I almost added to this .. but I have so much to get going here when I start .. all of them are direct sow .. we better have Spring running down the lane towards us SOON !

Hi Valeri !
Thanks for stopping by .. hope to see you again !

HI again Anna
I love to see those fantastic pictures of full fields packed with sunflowers ... they just make you feel happy .. I can't figure it out .. but I love it !

Hi hedgwitch
Yup .. when summer actually comes (I have my doubts this year) our intense heat makes these babies take off like crazy .. fun to watch !