Can't go wrong with sunflowers!! Let your kids plant the seeds in the spring or early summer. Kids love these because they get so tall so fast! There are different kinds of sunflowers that grow to different sizes. Be sure to read the labels on the back of the packages to see how tall that variety gets. This variety here is called "Skyscraper" they grows to be 12 feet tall!! Our neighbors have gotten to enjoy these as well because they tower over our fence! ;)
At the end of the sunflower's life the entire head of the flower begins to droop and then dries out. One sunflower head produces hundreds of sunflower seeds that can be eaten raw, roasted, or saved to plant the following spring. I was hoping to harvest the seeds by now, but due to all of the rain we've had over the last several weeks they have been saturated and have become soggy. Hopefully, i'll have better luck next year!
Zinnias and as you can see the butterflies love them! They make for a great addition to a butterfly garden. Best of all, zinnias make great cut flowers...they last for weeks in a vase.
Now is the time of year to start saving the seeds. Pick a dry, dead flower from a friend's garden and pull it apart. Inside will be plenty of seeds. Save them in an envelope or brown paper bag labeled "zinnias-plant in spring". In the spring let the kids sprinkle them in the garden and cover with 1/2 inch of soil. :)
