Sunflowers

[GoDawgs]

Sister Pickles always puts sunflowers in a bed at the bottom of the garden. This year she chose two different varieties. One is 'Sunspot', a 4' dwarf sunflower with 8-10" blooms. The other is 'Beach' that gets about 5-6' and has 3" blooms on it. Then she plants cucumbers underneath as a living mulch.

These are the 'Sunspot':



And these are the 'Sunspot' with the 'Beach' behind them:



I noticed today that many of the Beach flowers are slightly different. In the photo there's a white one, the only white one in the bed. And some are a darker shade of yellow or gold than others. The cucumbers are now gone but the bees are having a field day with the sunflowers. Mostly bumbles but others too.

[worth1]

They grow wild around here.

[pondgardener]

I am trying to grow some Mammoth sunflowers in an EarthBox type of container this year. So far they are six feet tall and growing...sucking up a lot of water.

[LindaJean]

Great photo GoDawgs , I've been Sunflower seed shopping and love the old fashioned kind. So many new colorful varieties don't look like a real sunflower although the white is pretty. My neighbor grew a Teddy Bear sunflower in a bucket - the hummingbirds went crazy over it.
I found a cool video while hunting seeds online.

[Yak54]

These are a variety called China Cat.../Users/Dan/Downloads/IMG_0190 Large.jpeg
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[Yak54]

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[LindaJean]

Those sure are gorgeous Yak54.
My sunflower seed hunt continues , there are some cool ones at Sunflower Selections, it's hard to chose.
Has anyone tried Sunflower Steves " Van Gogh's Fantasy Mix " ?

[Yak54]

Thanks, I like them and the bees really love them. Got them at Quail Seeds along with some lettuce seed I was looking for. https://www.quailseeds.com/