Sunflowers

This is where it all started ....a small patch of soil and a little scrarecrow to try to stop the birds eating the seeds! Now I have lots of wonderful sunflowers. The most popular are yellow. I particularly like a pale one called Moonshine, which is tall ,elegant and has a medium sized head.....too large and they are difficult to use in bouquets. I have also grown Vincent which has splashes of red, Claret which speaks for it's self and yellow mongrels from my own collected seed. Sadly the weather has turned and the wind over the last few days has battered them . Looking through the kitchen window we could see petals blowing off with each gust! However there are still enough to cut.
This week I have been cutting Sunflowers, Verbena, Dahlias, Zinnias and Cosmos with wonderfull dark burning bush foliage. I am waiting for the Chrysanthemums which are all in bud. I planted a great range of autumnal colour, so they should look good mixed together and have a lovely scent.
Collecting seed heads for the Christmas boxes and for seed for next year is in full swing, I love the Nigella heads; I now have two types, the more common one but also Hispanica which are bigger and more exotic looking. I am also starting to plant bulbs for forcing, so worth it to have Hyacinyhs in January! Must get back in the garden as the sun is out now and who knows how long it will last.....

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A vase full of sunshine.