There's nothing like a sunflower in your garden to make you smile. And to bring bees and songbirds to your garden, making you smile even more!
Sunflowers are easy, fun plants for all ages. Youngsters laugh at their gigantic-growth habits. Seniors find them fascinating, possibly reminiscent of carefree childhood days.
Better Homes and Garden magazine features a sunflower seed collection this month that gives you the best of all the sunflowers you could want. It's the Sunflower Garden Seed Collection from The Gardener's Workshop, an online gardening catalog for cut-flower seeds and herbs and gardening tools.
The collection, which can be planted until early July in a 3-by-10-foot area, represents all the colors and sizes of the sunflower family. The collection includes Sunflower Lemon Aura, 60 inches tall; Sunflower Moulin Rouge, 80 inches; Sunflower Sunbeam, 72 inches; Sunflower Sunbright, 72 inches; and Sunflower Teddy Bear, 30 inches.
The collection is $23; individual packs can be purchased, too. The collection is $23 at www.shoptgw.com or 888-977-7159.
Here are some tips for successful sunflower growing:
The plants need full sun, meaning at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily.
The seeds should be planted 1/2-inch deep and watered daily until the plants are 8 to 12 inches tall.
Mulch the plants heavily when they are 12 inches tall to prevent weeds and retain moisture.
Tall sunflowers benefit from a strong garden stake placed in the ground right next to the plant when it's young. To keep the plants upright during wind and rain, use pieces of panty hose to secure the plant to the stake.
Enjoy the flowers in a bouquet or in the garden and watch them develop into heads full of sunflower seeds for the birds.
