this is not a field of flowers but a single head of a sunflower. 
these grey striped mamoth sunflowers have been my garden fascination this summer. they grew so fast that everyone in my family was interested in seeing them almost daily. they are all spent now and i am trying to harvest them for the seeds.
this one is sitting in a longaberger cake basket and overflowing quite a bit.
i brought them into my potting shed and realized just how mamoth they were. they towered overhead between 8 and 10 feet tall. so when we cut a few of the heads the other day and i held them in my hands with their weightiness and girth. i had to take pictures to show you just how big they had become.
i am most definitely going to save some seeds to plant next year.
we (dh and i) have decided to expand our garden to our acres in the back with more corn & more sunflowers .
i can't wait to share the seeds with my family and give some to the birds as well!
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14 comments:
These are one of my favorite sunflower varieties. I even leave some up on their stalks into the winter as natural birdfeeders.
Cindy
wow! How do they hold themselves up? One would have to have acres to grow these mammoth heads full of seeds. They are fascinating.
Meems
rosehaven cottage, this is my first year with these but won't be my last. i did leave quite a few up for feeding as well!
meems, the stalks are jack and the bean stalk proportions and they are all bowing their heads now.
These are fabulous! Any craft projects planned? Or are they all going to the birds?
Hi Marmee, this is my first year with sunflowers too. Mine were from seed that I fed the birds--two kinds. Many were like yours, huge. I was surprised and pleased they bloomed for such a long period.
The last couple thunderstorms have just about ruined them.
Marnie
I just love that first picture. Never would have guessed what it was.
tina,
thanks.
any suggestions on the craft ideas!? i had not even thought of any. but i love to do crafty things.
we are hoping to build more of a shield next year, r&l. i am sorry to see them go! but it was fun while it lasted.
flydragon,
i just love close up shots, they can be so intriguing! thank you.
Nope, no suggestions with crafts. I guess just display them for a fall bouquet or something. That was why I was asking you:) My sister is the crafty one. She might have some ideas. Not sure. Fantastic sunflowers.
Hi there, thanks for coming to my site. Ethan's tree was planted not too long after our first grandson passed away. He passed at only 2 1/2 days old. He had a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). He would have been six years old this past March.
Thank you for the interest. You are the first person to ask about it. Most of the family that visits the site already knew.
Take care and have a great weekend
I have always loved sunflowers - but only from afar. I have never had enough gardening room to grow them. Yours are ginormous gorgeous!! I would have liked to see them in the field enmasse, but your close ups are fabuloso!! Like 'flydragon', I especially liked the first close up, showing the inside of the blossom. Fascinating what pictures can show you that you might otherwise overlook!
P.S. I am unsure of what the last comment from 'sara g' was all about, but it gave me an idea for you. Since you have so much acreage, you could plant a tree in the name of each of your children. Maybe different kinds to match their personality, or some that flower for the girls. They would always remember home that way, and when they come to visit, could see the growth progress of their tree. Just a thought ;-)
My word! those blooms are GINORMOUS. I love that the first photo looks like a field of flowers. Flowers within the flower. Beautiful. I'm not partial to sunflowers, because I'm not a fan of yellow, but I'm still in awe of God's mighty power of creativity!
tina,
okay well if i think of anything ingenious or super crafty i will let you know. or you can have your sister stop by and offer some ideas.
gigi,
these have been so much fun.i did have some pics when they were all blooming i will try to email you some. taking that close up was so cool. i have learned more about plants from taking pictures.
i have actually thought of the whole tree planting thing but i want to make sure we are still going to be here at this house.
s/s/m,
it's funny you mentioned that you are not partial to yellow because i am not either. i try to avoid planting anything yellow but when i saw these sunflowers that would get so big and tall i thought it might be fun to watch something grow so fast. also when i planted the wild flower garden it was all from seed so i didn't know what i was getting.
thanks everyone for sharing my enthusiasm for my huge sunflowers!
sara g
i think that it is great that you planted a tree in honour of your grandson. i am sure it will bring you years of pleasure and a remembrance of ethan! i know this can not have been an easy time for you but good for you that you did something positive with such a tragic event.
thanks for sharing this with me.
marmee
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