It's Time for Sunflowers Again

The slate is clean.  

The flowerbed is empty.  

It's time to plant our sunflowers again.

This is always a great time of year for us.  Planting sunflowers has become a family tradition.

This little plot of dirt next to our deck has seen many a sunflower.  And it has seen many months of just being empty, anticipating next year's flowers.  I always like to leave a space just for our sunflowers.   It's sad when I have to pull the dead flowers up, because it looks so empty.  However, it gives the ground a chance to rest. 


We started out in 2005, by the shed with our sunflower patch, but the evergreen trees grew higher and higher and blocked too much of the sun, so we had to move the patch to the flower bed by the deck. 

One thing I enjoy so much about our sunflower patch is looking back at pictures of the boys and seeing how much they have grown since we started the whole thing.  

Joseph age 4

PJ at age 2

Here are the boys this year.

Today the Mammoth seeds went into the ground.  We used Burpee brand organic sunflower seeds.  I always use Burpee seeds.  They seem to do really well.

This is the 5th spring this little piece of dirt has been the host for sunflowers.  We have had varying success over the years.   We've had Mammoths grow to 7-9 feet and some grow only to about 5 ft.  We've had trouble with slugs, birds, and aphids, but through it all it has been worth all of the efforts to grow them.  The last 2 years were the years of the slug, and I had to replant them about 3 times each year.  The slugs left the colored sunflowers alone, but attacked the new sprouts of the Mammoths every time I planted them.  It was very frustrating.

Nothing has ever topped the sunflowers of 2007 in our yard.  2008 and 2009 were beautiful because we planted varying colored sunflowers in addition to Mammoths.  The summer of 2007 was amazing.  

 The Mammoths of 2007

2007

2007

2008

2008

My mom in 2008

2009

2009

2009

2010

With the slate clean this year,  I do not know what the summer will hold.  How tall will they get this year?  Will we have to replant them due to those pesky slugs?  How many Goldfinch couples will feast on them?  I pray that they will just grow and we will enjoy watching the process once again.  


It takes 2 full months for Mammoths to bloom.  That would be about the time I return from Ecuador. 


One of our favorite photos to take each year are each of us "peeking through" the stalks as they are getting tall.  

I can't wait for July when we'll be peeking through.....

 More to come as they grow.....