Sunflower Love In The Garden

Mammoth Gray Stripe Sunflower

I have a love affair with growing sunflowers and my favorite is the Mammoth Gray Stripe Sunflower.  This is a picture of my first sunflower bloom of the summer.  Isn't it just divine?  Not only is the flower huge but the leaves are so gigantic you could play Adam and Eve dress up with them :-) They can get as tall as 12 feet and are a beautiful yellowish-orange color.

Sunflowers are so versatile and come in many various sizes, shapes and even colors from bright yellow, golden yellow, oranges, deep reds with browns, gosh they are just the best!

Sunflowers are not choosy about their soils as I've found.  I live in the Southwest desert region and as hot and dry as our climate is you can see they thrive.  Even though they are not picky so much about their soil, I will loosen up the ground with a hand rake and mix flower potting soil and peat moss together and work it into the ground before planting my seeds.

I do recommend if you live in a hot climate such as mine watering is a must everyday and slow soaking is the best.  Depending on the species you choose they can have single layer petals, double or even what is known as teddy bear layers.

Give the sunflower all the sun it craves and loves.   I generally plant a row along my fence lines and they take anywhere from 60-100 days to mature and bloom.  I get mine in the ground in March.  If you live in a colder climate wait until you know your ground freezes and frosts are over.  Ideal planting time is April for most states.

When my stalks are half grown I will plant another row so when the first batch of flowers are complete I have news ones coming in.  If you don't have the room no worries enjoy the room you have for your sunshiny flowers.

Natural Bird Feeders

I will leave the seeds on the flowers once they are ready so the birds have something to feast on.  Sunflowers are natural bird feeders.  I will harvest one or two of my flowers to use for new sunflowers for my garden.  Learn how to harvest your own sunflowers here.

If you've never grown sunflowers, give it a try and I hope you get as much enjoyment out of them as I do.  They are a love and passion of mine.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and remember:

Live Life, Laugh Hard, Love Passionately,