Sunflowers
Sunflowers are super easy to grow and provide a cheerful display as well as seeds for the birds. Some have been bred for a single large head, others make many heads that can be used for cut flowers. On a windy site, go for the shorter varieties.
‘Dwarf Fantasy’ Mini Sunflower Mix
Mini sunflowers? This might seem a bit of an odd idea - but they are really, really pretty, short little sunflowers of different shades, they look great in the flower border.
Very cute little sunflowers about 2 to 3ft tall, ideal for the back of a flowerbed or cutting - sure to make you smile.
about 25 seed, organic. £2.21
‘Red Centre’ Sunflower
They have deep red centres, with varying amounts of yellow-orange edges to the petals, and it is weather-dependent: the hotter the weather the redder they are. The 6 foot plants produce one main head and a few extras suitable for cutting, but also brilliant for just admiring at the back of a border.
The colour is stunning and the seed would of course be edible if the sparrows didn't always get there first.
25 seed £2.39
Autumn Beauty Sunflower Mix
From 2 to 4m tall, these sunflowers are mostly yellows with the occasional oranges and reds, to cheer up your garden.
A bit of a lucky dip, this mix, some people get lots of red, others get all yellowy-oranges; we think it depends both on soil and night-time temperatures!
at least 20 seed £2.21
China Cat Sunflower Mix
A fantastic multi-headed sunflower with rings of orange on its yellow petals. About 5 foot tall, the nice thing about this is that lots of smaller heads are produced over a long season, so it is ideal for cutting, or just a fancy display in the garden. The seeds are a reasonable size and you could save them to eat or feed the birds. This variety was created by Alan Kapuler of Peace Seeds. To get the multi-heading habit, he crossed 'Gloriosa' with silverleaf sunflowers, and named the variety after the 1972 song by the psychedelic rock band The Grateful Dead.
The song is pretty cool, but the sunflowers are even better, and less likely to annoy your neighbours.
18 seed £2.89
Giganteus -VERY TALL
A modern selection of the old ‘Uniflorus Giganteus’ , this makes really tall sunflowers to about 10ft, with pale yellow petals and a dark centre.
A very, very tall sunflower. Stake well in windy sites so it doesn’t blow over.
20-25 seed £2.29
Sunzilla -VERY BIG HEADS
This new variety of sunflower grows to about 10ft tall and has been chosen for the absurdly large heads that it makes - 18 to 24 inches in diameter! Selected by Tim Peters of “The Bigger and Better Nursery”, who has bred for a thicker stem so there is less risk of it collapsing under the weight of the massive flowers. In fact the whole plant is ‘supersized’ and the leaves are enormous as well, as you can see in the photo whith Jemma.
A very, very BIG sunflower.Stake well in windy sites so it doesn’t blow over.
10 seed £3.10