I have long been a fan of the simple sunflower, and over the past few years I have planted quite a few in my gardens. This year I set aside a 10'x20' patch of yard to create a massive sunflower garden, and the first of these flowers opened this morning, which is pictured on your left.My dogs, of course, were uninterested in the project, and they trampled a greater number of sunflower seedlings than I expected In order to keep alive the dream of a wall of sunflowers, I was forced by canine destruction to plant more seeds. Hence, I may not get the simultaneous wave of colors I envisioned, but over the course of the summer I should have non-stop sunflower blossoms until October or so.
Interestingly, there are at least a half-dozen sunflowers that spontaneously emerged from seeds left over sunflower heads mauled by squirrels and finches last year. I originally planned a garden of rows of progressively shorter varieties (taller in back, shorter in front) but at this point it is anyone's guess how this will turn out.
But heck: half the fun of gardening is comparing design with results.
