Earlier this year I gave a donation to my local RNLI in memory of my late husband Ian …They sent me a packet of sunflower seeds to plant in memory so I planted them in my little garden for all to see ..What a joy they are , I never thought I would have so many blooms from six seeds!
An update on my beautiful sunflowers .
It is now a week since the first flower blossomed and Im thrilled at the amount of sunflowers and buds .I have 18 buds and 7 flowers out at the moment with the tallest being over 84 cm or in old English over 7 feet. I will hopefully save the seeds for planting next year so there will be more .
They just cheer everything up and the number of neighbours that have commented on them has cheered me.
These few below are indoors as we had a storm and they were broken down..So what sunshine to bring in doors and hopefully they will last longer .
Facts about sunflowers .
Sunflowers are wonderful addition to any garden , if you are an insect or a person .
Annuals or perennials?
Although most we grow are annuals ,there are perennials as well and the easiest way to tell is to look at the roots. Annual sunflowers have long thin tap roots with smaller roots coming off it but perennials have to survive winter so their roots are rhizomes for storage to keep them alive.
Seeds
The seeds of course are very beneficial to our wild life , bees , wasps , birds and other insects are usually close by ready to have a snack from my cafe!
We can of course dry them ourselves for planting next year, hopefully before the birds get them all. Just let the flowers go to seed ,then harvest the seeds and keep them in a cool place preferably in paper bag. Its a great way to get free seeds for your garden .
They can also be eaten of course and a great source of nutrients that can support your immune system. They can also apparently lower your risk of developing diseases like high blood pressure or heart disease.
Did you know that the sunflower is a member of the artichoke family and that you can cook and eat the whole head ?…Best of luck!
All photos on this site are my originals taken by me on the beautiful island of the Isle of Wight.
Moving on to Bembridge 