In my quest to have not only colorful, yet practical, gardens around the homestead this year, I have been adding some new seeds (flowers and herbs) to my sowing days. I'm not looking for everyday flowers to grow either. I like to find ones that are unique and unusual; but also have somewhat of a multi purpose for myself, or others. The first flower I want to share are these Teddy Bear Sunflowers.
What attracted me to these were the way they didn't resemble a sunflower that I'm used to. These have a pom-pom look to them and I was entranced with their beauty. After finding these on Etsy, I was searching for more in different colors; but unfortunately yellow is the only color I could find available for purchase. But now that I know about these, I'll be keeping an eye out for more.
Even though the packet said 10-15 days to germinate, out of the five seeds that I sowed all but one have popped up within six days of sowing the seeds. I received 24 seeds in this packet and am hesitant to plant all of them; in case, I am unable to harvest some of the seeds for future gardening seasons.
These sunflowers are dwarf in size and will grow between two and three feet in height; which is perfect for the burst of color that I'm seeking for my herb garden this year. They'll tower over the oregano, lemon balm. mints and basils.
While this is more of an ornamental flower, I know it will attract bees and other pollinators. Spring is here, while you'd never know it from the weather some days, but just sowing seeds over the last week have me daydreaming for getting outside and getting my hands back into the soil, feeling the sun shine down upon me and to enjoy seeing my garden grow.
So far I have sowed two varieties of nasturtiums, three different varieties of calendula, marsh mallow (to replenish what I harvested last year), amaranth (which is also new to me this year) and a wide variety of herbs. I can never have enough parsley, basil, dill, chives or lavender to harvest every autumn.
As for the moment, I am waiting for a few more days, or perhaps weeks, until I can get outdoors and start churning the soil and preparing it for all the seedlings I will have. I have again decided to forgo planting peppers and tomatoes in the gardens this year. I have been purchasing those through a local farmer in the fall when I am ready to can marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, salsa and pepperoncinis. By doing this, it allows me more space for my herbs and flowers.
Keep an eye out over the next week for more flowers and herbs that I'll be cultivating this spring in my gardens.
This post was made from https://ulogs.org