Sunflowers - A Beautiful Garden Plant

 Flowers sunflowers are a perennial crop that thrives in a variety of climate zones. Their cheerful blooms make a splash in gardens, containers and even indoor bouquets. They are easy to grow, resistant to disease and pests, and they produce edible seeds that provide a nutritional treat for birds!

A Beautiful Garden Plant

Unlike many garden flowers, sunflowers don’t require much maintenance. They can be grown in full sun and are fairly drought-tolerant, even in dry soil. They resist fungus, and they can tolerate temperatures down to USDA Zone 2.

Their blooms are beautiful and attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators to your garden. They also help to control insect populations.

They’re a good source of Vitamin A and a rich source of essential minerals like selenium, zinc, iron and magnesium. These nutrients are important for a healthy immune system.

Birds love them too, and they do a great job of reducing the population of insects that cause problems in your garden. They are also great for attracting other wildlife to your yard, including squirrels and chipmunks.

Wild birds are a wonderful addition to any garden, as they’re highly skilled at managing pests and ensuring a balanced population of beneficial and harmful insects. In addition, they’re a natural deterrent for rodents and other wildlife that might try to eat your plants.

If you want to feed the birds in your garden, you can harvest the seeds from the flower heads as soon as they begin to dry up and become brown. They’re a tasty snack, or you can sprinkle them into bird feeders and let the birds self-feed!

In addition to boosting the beauty of your landscape, sunflowers are an excellent plant for detoxifying your garden soil. They absorb toxic heavy metals (including arsenic, copper, manganese and zinc) that can build up in your soil over time, helping it to be healthier.

To get the best results, start your seeds indoors in mid-spring or early summer. Once the plants are ready, transplant them outside about 45cm (18 inches) apart in a sunny spot. Ideally, they should have complete sun and soil that’s well-drained, but they can also do OK in part shade or a greenhouse.

Once planted, sunflowers are low maintenance until the burgandy flowers and seed heads start to form. Keep them watered and mulched to prevent weed growth and to encourage deep roots, which helps your plants stay strong.

They’re heliotropic, which means that they turn their petals to follow the sun’s movement across the sky. It’s an ancient plant feature that makes them very unique.

The flowers’ buds turn to face the sun during the morning, but then turn back to the east at night, when the sun is setting. It’s a sign that the flowers are storing food and energy for the next day.

You can also collect the seeds to use in cooking or to replant. Once the seeds are fully developed, remove them from the head with sharp scissors or a knife and place them in a bowl to drain. To know more information visit at www.funkyflowers.com.au.