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Among the Flowers – Sunflower Symphony

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A large bouquet of sunflowers in an white ironstone pitcher with painted blue flowers sits on a grey deck table. Deck furniture is in the background

Flowers are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty out values all the utilities in the world.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Symphony of Sunflowers

If you have only ever seen yellow sunflowers you’d be surprised by the myriad of colors and bloom structures. I haven’t grown as many “teddy bear” or double petal varieties but those are on my list for the future. The traditional open structure is a bee magnet, and if you time planting correctly you can have blooms from mid summer through fall. The multi- stemmed varieties will also continue to produce successively smaller blooms all the way down the trunk.

A few of my favorite sunflower varieties

  • Evening Sun – a blend of different sunset hues
  • Shock-o-Lat – a two tone sunflower
  • Chianti – dark purple sunflower
  • Velvet Queen – a dark red sunflower
  • Black Beauty – a dark red almost black sunflower
  • Vanilla Ice – a white sunflower
A sunflower with a blend of yellow and organ blooms in front of a forested and leafy background
A dark red almost black sunflower blooms in front of a grass lawn and forested and leafy background
A cluster of yellow sunflower blooms with a raised bed garden and deck in the background
A red purple sunflower bloom is centered with yellow sunflower blooms and garden raised beds in the background
A red orange sunflower blooms appear in the front, a number of dark red purple and yellow sunflowers appear in the background in front of a forested area

Growing Sunflowers

Whether you grow them in raised beds, in a landscape planting, or row, keep in mind that sunflowers can benefit from some support or staking, especially when they are multistemmed and their upper blooms start going to seed. The heavy seedheads coupled with cooler/rainier fall weather can lead to bending or snapping. Here you can see them overtaking these trellises and measuring in at well over 7ft tall!

A raised bed garden with a variety of wooden garden beds, trellis, and gravel in the front, a cluster of tall sunflower plants of various colors in the back.
A raised bed garden with a variety of wooden garden beds, trellis, and gravel in the front, a cluster of tall sunflower plants with blooms reach taller than a 7ft tall trellis they are next to.

Seeds can be planted in trays in spring and transplanted out after last frost or direct sown into the soil when the risk of last frost has passed. Plant several successions from spring to mid july and you’ll have sunflowers from late summer through fall. Collect seeds when the seed heads have formed and before birds get to them. Seedlings are vulnerable to wildlife early on (rabbits, deer, groundhogs)

Sunflower starts are laying in a black tray on a gravel covered ground. Small steams and leaves are shown with exposed root balls
Layla standing next to a raised bed full of tall sunflower plants surrounded by grass and a forested background. The sunflowers are several feet taller than she is.
A hand points to the seed head of a large sunflower that droops, heavy with seeds.

From Garden to Vase

Most sunflowers are what florists refer to as messy flowers – they do shed pollen so keep that in mind when using them for arrangements. They bloom in the fall and have a much longer vase life than peonies or dahlias if harvested at the correct time.

An sunflower bloom of yellow, orange, and red is centered with leaves and garden in the background
A bouquet of sunflowers, goldenrod, and other flowers is seen in an ironstone pitcher on the center island of a kitchen. A basket of apples is in the foreground with kitchen counters and cabinet in the background.

Want to find all my favorite flowers in the garden? You can find the whole series at link below
Among the Flowers

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