Monday, August 19, 2013

Sunflower Patch

When I was a pre-teen, sunflowers were my absolute favorite flower of all time. I had a matching sunflower necklace and earring set that I wore religiously and one of my favorite birthday gifts was a pillow my grandma made for me with a cheery sunflower motif. Today my love of sunflowers is manifested in a more natural form in my small sunflower patch in the middle of the back yard.


These couldn't have been easier to grow - we simply planted the seeds early this spring and let mother nature take care of the rest. We have had a lot of rain over the past month, and just recently the sunflowers have gone through a major growth spurt! I'm just over five feet tall and many of these are already way above my head. Their quick growth has been amazing to witness.


I smile whenever I see the bright yellow blooms popping up from a sea of green in the back yard. It's a little unexpected burst of color that really makes me happy.


Do you grow sunflowers in your garden?

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse, From the Farm Blog HopOur Beautiful World   

58 comments:

  1. we have a bunch of volunteers that grow along the pond where i've scattered bird seed and hen scratch in the past. we've got some millet growing up, now, too. the birds LOVE that natural patch!

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  2. There's a few sunflower plants in my flower garden. I just love them! Thanks for sharing photos of yours.

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  3. These are wonderful photos. My friends used to call me Sunshine Sue or Sunflower Sue. I even chose a sunflower motif for my leg brace. As you may have guessed, I love sunflowers too. :-)

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  4. So beautiful Tammy! I haven't grown them successfully but they are on the top of my "to do" list for next year. I love your photos - you are so talented!

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  5. I love fields of sunflowers. I used to grow them along the side of my house where we used to live. I don't have much sun in my current shady yard. Yours are beautiful!

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  6. What lovely, cheeful flowers! They are one of my favorites and I have been meaning to plant some but never seem to get around to it. I do enjoy the 'wild' ones alongside the roads around here. :)

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  7. So very pretty! I've grown some and most have sprung up from seeds planted from our bird feeder seed...always a nice little bonus. :)

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  8. beautiful flowers!
    I love Sunflowers!

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  9. We have one sunflower. They are Pierce's favorite flower.

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  10. They make me smile too, I love the sunflowers. I have a few volunteer plants. Next year I might plant a row like you. They look pretty. Lovely images, Tammy!

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  11. I love sunflowers too! They grow in my garden every year. I have been trying lots of different colors, but yellow is always my favorite. I even have a sunflower tattooed on my ankle.

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  12. These are beautiful! I wish I had more sun to grow them. Near the lake there are fields of them, it looks like a sea of yellow!

    XO,
    Jane

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  13. I love sunflowers too. My kitchen is decorated with sunflowers and birdhouses. I have a small patch of sunflowers too. I have them at the back of our garden. They make me smile and I love driving past fields of sunflowers in the Dakotas. So much beauty smiling at me. :-)

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  14. Love the sunflowers. I have not had much success with them. I think it might be timing and the heat.

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  15. Lovely pictures of your sunflowers, Tammy. It is almost time for me to plant our sunflower seeds (but not quite, just a bit too cold yet). They are indeed beautiful but it the way that just have a happy look about them that makes me keep planting them. That and the fact that the chickens love them.

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  16. Such beautiful pics of your beautiful flowers! Hope you don't mind if I use one of your pics for my desktop pic until mine come into bloom? Sunflowers just brighten my days so much :)

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  17. absolutely gorgeous :)

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  18. I use to grow them all the time - but haven't the several years due to bushes/hedges that have taken over the flower bed! But we like our hedge as a privacy fence. So I have fake ones inside the house in jugs!

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  19. Oh yeah...We grow 'em every summer. They are so cheery! I'm pinning that first shot! Enjoy, Tammy!

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  20. Sunflowers are my favorite as well. I planted several different varieties in our garden this year from dwarf to mammoth. They looked spectacular and provided plenty of seed for the birds! Next year we are planting two fields of sunflowers in the school garden.
    Great photos! :)

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  21. So beautiful and bright! I don't have sunflowers growing in my garden but I sure I wish I do.

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  22. These are awesome flowers Tammy; great compositions and detail.

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  23. I have my very first sunflower growing in my garden this year. I planted two of them, but the little man was "helping" me weed one night and we lost a few beets and one of the sunflowers. It is well over five feet tall already, but no head so far. We are so far north that I don't know if we will see much of the head before frost takes it down!

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  24. Me too Tammy...I share your love of Sunflowers too. Always wanted to grow but never did try but every time I'm on one of my day trippin' drives and see a field of them I just want to stop and pick a bunch...course I never do. There's something so special about them...they just spread a little sunshine wherever they grow. They remind me of a big smiley face. Have a great day. - Hugs -

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  25. i've always wanted to grow one of those sunflower forts for my kids but never have. i love sunflowers!

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  26. I love sunflowers! My grandma and grandpa had a couple by their barn. I have always wanted to visit a sunflower field someday.

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  27. So pretty! I was in my 20s when the sunflower fad hit. Thank you for taking me back. I put together a post on sunflowers too for this week. They are beautiful and there is nothing like them in the world~especially on gloomy days of winter. Thank you for sharing them.~Melissa

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  28. They sure are a 'happy' flower :D
    Janie x

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  29. Oh, I love sunflowers. What gorgeous shots.

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  30. I usually have volunteer sunflowers growing here and there. But this year, I haven't seen a one. I like them, too. I always hear comments that the farmer behind me won't like seeing them growing in my yard. This year I transplanted some milk weed from my daughter's prairie garden to my fence line and I heard about how the farmer won't like it,either. It is my yard, tho. LOL
    My daughter has a sunflower theme in her kitchen and eating area. Your pictures of sunflowers are great.

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  31. Such a cheery flower. - I don't grow them but the back neighbors do so we enjoy seeing theirs over the top of our fence.

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  32. Love the bokeh! We don't have sun flowers any more but growing up on the farm we had tons!

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  33. Honestly, there aren't many sunflowers around here. I'm not sure if it's the climate or what, but I do love it when I see one.

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  34. This year I was totally tickeled when sunflowers popped up out if seemingly nowhere ~ from all the bird seed we gave to the wild birds this past snowy winter it seems . :)

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  35. Beautiful! We grow them too. I have a multipack and it makes a beautiful bouquet. I'm thinking I should save the seeds from this years to plant next year.

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  36. My MIL gave us surprise seeds (for the kids to grow) and sunflowers were in there. Our first time and I love them!

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  37. I don't think anything says summer as beautifully as a sunflower.

    Blessings!

    Sue

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  38. I adore sunflowers! You're right - they are just so bright & happy - like smiling sunny faces. :) I don't have any this year, but we usually have some volunteers around our bird feeder. One year we did grow them all along the south side of our house, and they reached high so that we could see them through the living room windows. Beautiful photos of your beautiful flowers, Tammy!

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  39. No sunflowers here. I am definitely planting sunflowers and zinnia's next season. Your are absolute;y beautiful...Nice pics... Have a great weekend. I hope you do cut a few of those to enjoy...let the birds have the rest. Blessings!

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  40. I adore sunflowers - mine haven't opened yet but should be opening any day. I planted the gigantic ones this year and I'm in love with them. I'll be so sad when they go. :) BEAUTIFUL photos as always!!

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  41. They are such a happy flower -- we have a huge patch on the edge of our lane.

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  42. Man, these are pretty. You are inspiring me for next year.

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  43. Beautiful sunflowers. I grew a bunch this year (I have in the past but not every year) and I just love looking at them. I'll grow more next year. I love the Mammoths, so fun :) I think there is something so beautiful and comforting about them, it just makes you feel more at home, if that makes sense. Also of course, the seeds are delicious :)

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  44. I didn't get around to planting any this year but the whole patch came up from seednfrom last year!

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  45. Oh my goodness your sunflowers are just beautiful! We wanted to plant some this year but didn't get them planted in time. This coming year we are going to plant lots of them! Again yours are just so pretty!

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  46. hi tammy

    love your sunflowers.
    amazing shots as usual

    big hugs~

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  47. They are sooo pretty! I have never grown sunflowers, perhaps next year I'll give them a try.

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  48. Wow these are so pretty!! Aren't they just so cheerful? Thanks so much for sharing with us at Our Beautiful World!

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  49. Sunflowers always make me smile! So sunny and bright!

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  50. Love the sunflowers!! Yes we do try to grow them occasionally. That reminds me of a picture I took a couple of years ago that I will have to search for...thanks!!

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  51. nothing says yellow quite like a sunflower. your shots of your sunflower patch are wonderful to see.
    i have sunflowers growing all over the place. this year they were all volunteers. seems that the birds don't always get all of the seeds and before you know it, the whole garden/yard is 'coming up sunshine'.

    :-)
    libbyQ

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  52. Just beautiful-and my very favourite kind of Yellow!
    Nessa xx

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  53. Just stunning!! You know, I always think that daisies are the friendliest flower, but NOW ... I vote for the sunflowers!!. Ha. I must try plant them in a pot, would they grow?. Lovely share, Tammy. Thank you from us @ Our Beautiful World :).

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  54. WOW, these are just beautiful!!! So glad you have a happy flower in your yard to admire each day. I too have them in my garden and this year they were more amazing then ever. We had different colored ones but I agree the yellow ones are the best.
    Thanks so much for sharing with us!

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  55. These are gorgeous photos of such a happy flower.

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  56. just glorious.. wow!! Loved all your photos! thks for participating at OUR BEAUTIFUL WORLD this week!! xo

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