Sunflower Fields Forever

I love Sunflowers. I love just about everything about them - their huge cheery flowers, the big stalks they grow on, the birds they attract with their late summer bounty, and, best of all, you really only have to plant them once!

Last year I planted an entire side of my yard with Sunflowers and when fall came I just let them fall where they were. We had lots of Stellar's Jays eating the seeds right out of the flowers. Many of the seeds got covered with leaves and mulch through the winter.

This spring they started popping up all over the same area, so many that I had to thin them to about 12" apart so they would have enough space to develop into the big Sunflowers that I love so much.

We also had a happy accident, we tried out some new bird seed in a feeder in another part of the garden and look what happened!

I decided not to thin these Sunflowers and see what happened. It turned out really great, they bloomed much later than the others, not opening until the middle of September. It's November now and we still have some blooming! They aren't producing much in the way of seeds, but the 3 to 6 inch diameter flowers on 3 to 4 foot stalks have been perfect for my wife to use in flower arrangements around the house.

This little garden experiment required almost no work and will hopefully perpetuate itself next year. If not, I guess I'll have to use that birdseed again!