Sprouts

Just spotted some sunflower sprouts peeking out.  So excited!

Thinking about getting some sand for the house floor.  I worry about that though because Oklahoma does have scorpions and I'm not sure if sand would attract them.

We have also been seeing a lot of snakes this year!  There was a black snake out by the garden, an Eastern Hognose on the front walkway and last night we found a copperhead in the garage!  I think I'm going to get some snake repellant.  I have heard they work, but I'm concerned about it being harmful to the animals.  If you know anything about this type of product, please leave a comment.

We planted Mammoth Sunflowers around the perimeter and tomorrow I'm going to fill in the blank spots with some Autumn Mixed Color Sunflowers.  I tried to find some ornamental corn, but I think I'm just too late this year.  I still have some birdhouse gourd seeds from last year so I guess I'll use those.

By the way, I've been putting up some great sunflower posts on my other blog at gardenideasforchildren.com.  I posted a reciipe for Sunflower Seed Cookies and the directions for growing a sunflower house.  Check them out if you have time.

I've been blogging pictures from my new phone.  I got my first Android phone and I'm lovin' it!  More pictures to come as soon as those sunflowers start to grow.  Won't be long now!  I'll post again soon!

Sunflower from the 2009 sunflower house

Always running a little late...

Well, this year we are at least getting the sunflower house planted.  Better late than never!  We decided to make it the central focus of the garden.  I'm thinking it will also attract all kinds of pollinators for the vegetables!  I also feel much better having Erin playing in the garden right where I am working.

In the past, we haven't been very good about the purpose of the sunflowers being to grow sunflower seeds.  We just didn't harvest them.  This year I plan to harvest the seeds.  It seems so silly that I buy sunflower seeds all year long and grow sunflowers, but don't harvest.  Time to change that!

The seeds I have for planting are Mammoth Sunflowers (8-12ft) and an Autumn Multi-Color mix (5-7 ft.)  I plan on interplanting them with birdhouse gourds and morning glories. I can't wait to see how it looks in a month or so!

If you would like to grow a sunflower house of your own, or you just want some advice on planting sunflowers, click here.

A new year and a new sunflower house design

2010's sunflower house never even got planted.  My father passed away in May and it was difficult at best to even get the regular garden stuff done.  


We have a great house planned for 2011 though.  Erin and I want to make it suitable for fairies to come and live in it.  She's 3 now and has a love of Tinkerbell and all things faery.  


We're still in the planning stages now...so stay tuned :)

2010 Growing Season!

WooHoo! It's Spring 2010!  That means a new growing season and great changes to Erin's Sunflower House.  We're in the process of moving the Sunflower House directly into the garden.  We figured that way, Erin is with me and being watched better when I am working in the garden.  The Sunflower House will be the center point of the garden with vegetables and flowers surrounding it.  Check back soon.  We'll be planting in April.

End of the Season '09

Well, this year's attempt at a great sunflower house just didn't really fly. I think too much rain made it a very unusual year here in SE Oklahoma. I think we'll give it another shot next year. I will make the house a little larger, finish "paving" the floor, add a sandpit, and add new varieties of seeds to the mix. Everyone have a nice winter! See you next spring!

Update - May 30

Update - Sunflowers are getting bigger. Morning Glories have attached to the stalks and are starting to climb.

Growing well

Here are the latest pictures. I've added some items to make it cuter. I'll take some close-ups of those next time. Whaddya think?

Good shot of the sunflowers mixed in with the ornamental corn. We used Mammoth sunflower seeds and Lemon Queen sunflower seeds for the garden. Lemon Queen is a medium-sized sunflower so it will fill in the gaps nicely, I hope. Also have Bird Gourd plants at all 4 corners and the middle of the long rows, but only one is coming up at this point. We planted the Morning Glory seeds in with the sunflowers, but I don't think it's warm enough for those to come up yet.

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