Sunflowers Are So Much Fun in the Garden

This dwarf sunflower is called Sunny Smile.

I have grown many kinds of sunflowers, but my favorite is the Russian Mammoth or striped seed sunflower. The larger the plant, the greater the diameter of the seedhead, the larger the seeds.

Two rows of sunflowers of growing now, chiefly for to feed the birds and squirrels. Sunflowers have a honey-like aroma. Bees are working the flowers right now.I let the plants go to  seed - if the squirrels allow it. Sometimes they chew off the bloom and eat that. We have seen squirrels bounce on sunflower plants as they pull seeds from finished disk.

A sunflower is like a cheap motel, with all kinds of residents. Grasshoppers will stay on a leaf and chew away, doing nothing to slow down the plant. Spiders set up shop to trap some food. Bees arrive for pollen, birds and squirrels for seed.

I leave the stalks up for the winter, so birds can perch safely on them above the snow, looking for food.

The seed companies like to market all kinds of sunflowers, all colors and sizes, almost like car models. "Have you grown Sunset sunflowers, yellow and brown?" They cost more and produce fewer seeds, tiny seeds.

Mammoth sunflowers are ideal for birds and for human snacks. They are loaded with minerals and protein and oil.

I plan to use mammoth sunflowers to screen the back fence, where No-Man's Land separates us from the homes on Joye street. The sun may be limited, but the sunflowers will spread out and grab whatever they can. I have soaker hose out to that location so I can easily add one link. They are heavy feeders and demand plenty of water to grow.

Buying pounds of sunflower seeds is a great way to do some interesting things. like create a living screen. Or they can form a square around children's equipment, so a green fort grows up around their slide or climber. Dig shallow trenches and sow in abundance. Water daily. The results are spectacular. The little bit of work is worthwhile when a child disappears inside the fort and pops out to surprise his parents.

Crepe myrtle may bloom again.

I was studying my gardening in the South book when I discovered that pruning the crepe myrtle may result in a new set of blooms. I was interested in the soft branches for the compost; I also wanted to shape the plant, which threatens to engulf the mailbox. No one ever figures out how big a plant will be in the future. Proof - we have two trees in the backyard, growing into each other.

If we prune now, the bush will send down more roots, create new growth, and possibly bloom again for the fall. The full blooms lasted for weeks and have not completely finished going to seed. Crepe myrtles in our neighborhood grow with pink, raspberry, or purple blooms.

This crepe myrtle should be shaped like a vase, the form used for most hybrid tea roses.