I wrote about my love of growing sunflowers in a previous blog and the trials and tribulations that come with growing them. This summer I planted more sunflowers than I have before, and things went a little awry.

I started with planting three different types of sunflowers – Busy Bees, great for bringing pollinators to the garden; mixed colors; and Mammoth, which are the towering 12-foot giants people tend to think of when they picture sunflowers. I meticulously planted five to six of the Mammoth and Busy Bee species, then I dumped the rest of about 15 seeds of the mixed color variety two to a pot.

This year, each kind popped up a week faster than the usual seven–10-day germination period. I was delighted to see all the new sprouts, but, as they grew, I started to realize I planted more than I had the tools for.

Sunflowers need a lot of space in the ground for roots, especially the mammoth, to support their towering height and thick stalks. I, unfortunately, did not have the space. While they were small, I was able to keep them congregated into a few pots but then I began to run out of pots to give them each enough space.

I was forced to consider planting my flowers in the ground, exposed to predators. I moved my surviving four mammoth, which desperately needed the root space, to the vegetable garden, which had limited open ground, but offered protection from fiendish deer, squirrels and rabbits.

I then made a grave error and moved my Busy Bee sunflowers to an exposed flower bed. It was a great spot near the busy bee bath and my mom’s lavender plant. We even added chicken wire barrier for slight protection. The flowers lasted two days there, then they were gone.

The consumption of my flowers felt almost personal. Whatever ate them left only the stalks, upturned the bee bath and ripped one of the stems from the ground. Luckily, my colorful sunflowers attracted tons of bees to its many branching heads.

I left the mixed color variety to crowd themselves in big pots safely up on the deck. They definitely were unhappy with me about the little space they had, but they managed.

Each flower took forever to finally bloom. I waited and waited. They bloomed and then they drooped. Life got busy at the time, and I didn’t get any pictures of them in their full bloom, but the massive growth and pretty colors were still worth seeing.

I’ll need to start preparing my plans for next summer’s sunflowers to ensure their safety and a beautiful bloom.

— Caroline Craig, administrative & advertising coordinator