Sunflowers and Birdies

My sunflowers are probably 3-4 weeks out from blooming. I planted them in mid April as soon as I could. In a month an a half these things have grown huge. I have two varieties - the Mammoth, and the Goliath. In other words, the big varieties. I planted them along the "back" (northern) side of my longest Lasagna Garden Bed.

I wanted to see which variety would get the tallest for myself. So far, Goliath is in the lead. They both have big beautiful foliage that forms a nice canopy out from the stem. I love to water these plants. Sunflowers like this have thick stems and wide shallow root systems. Their leaf canopies direct the water right to the ends of the root systems. Nature is amazing to me. The picture below is the dividing line between the Goliath on the left and the Mammoth on the right. They were all planted on the same day an have received the same attention. The Goliath are about six feet tall and the mammoth range from 3-5 feet.




I have a pair of brown birds that have nested in my grape arbor. They came to visit me out here today. They've nested in a good spot to eat my grapes, but I am willing to share as long as I get enough for some more apple grape jelly this year. They are a little hard to see here, but I tried to get closer and they flew away. One is on the arbor, just above the seat and the other is to the right in the grass.




The peace I feel when I am out here is wonderful. It is my refuge from reality. I have neglected my garden now for two weeks, it shows, and there is a lot to do. But the it does not make me anxious like the stresses of indoor household work. I procrastinate because I don't enjoy it like I enjoy yard work. I do find myself skipping other things- housework, errands, other hobbies - to be out here among my plants. Letting my kids play in the sprinkler today counts as a bath for them right? ;)



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