By Ray Parker

A paragraph out of the online Farmer’s Almanac says this about sunflowers: “The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant with a sizeable daisy-like flower face. Its scientific name comes from the Greek words helios (“sun”) and anthos (“flower”). The flowers come in many colors (red, orange, maroon, brown), but they are commonly bright yellow with brown centers that ripen into heavy heads filled with seeds. Sunflowers make excellent cut flowers, and many attract bees, birds, and butterflies.”

My wife and I like to take our vacations in September after the summer tourist season is over. There are less people to contend with and the weather is beginning to cool down in many places. One particular year we were meandering through Kansas. Kansas is a long state to meander through if you are looking for historical sites, like Abilene, the Sante Fe Trail, or the Chisolm Trail, or Dodge City.

In our meandering we saw lots and lots of sunflowers. They grew along country roads by the miles. By September, many seed heads were dry and were dying to get picked. So, I obliged them and came home with a new attraction for sunflowers. And I mean tall sunflowers, 8-, 10-, 12-foot plants. Things don’t grow big only in Texas.

My sunflowers are not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. They are in Guyton, and they grow wonderfully. Sunflowers are all around the house in various flower beds, or in the garden among the vegetables or hibiscus plants. I have added other colors through the years, and always save seeds.

Birds usually do a number on them after the seed heads begin to dry; but the worst problem for me are the squirrels. They begin to attack the seed pods before they begin to dry up. I’ve seen squirrels take a whole flower head up a tree! To save a particular color seed pod I put screen wire around the head. Squirrels will chew through any other material.

The online Farmer’s Almanac has a good article on growing sunflowers. Growing sunflowers is a

good project for families with small children. There are small varieties of sunflowers that can be grown in pots on patios or balconies. It’s still not too late to plant some, they bloom in a little over 70 days. Then watch them follow the sun as it moves across the sky. Have the children look up the word “heliotropic”.

Enjoy the outdoors. God’s creation is healthy for you.

[Ray Parker is a backyard gardener in south Guyton.]