Why I Grow Sunflowers

Each sunflower I sell starts the same way: a tiny seed and a lot of patience.

In early summer, when the seedlings are just pushing through, the crows are watching like it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet. My low-tech solution? Upside-down cups over the baby plants for the first little while. Nothing fancy—just enough protection until they’re strong enough to fend for themselves.

There are hundreds of sunflower varieties out there. Tall, short, pollen-free, bi-coloured, dark centres, fluffy heads, single stems, branching types. I grow a mix because they each bring something different to a bouquet—structure, warmth, drama, or that classic sunny punch everyone recognizes instantly.

They’re workhorses in arrangements. They hold well, they pair beautifully with grasses, celosia, rudbeckia, and fall textures, and they make people smile without trying.

And when the season winds down, I don’t pull them out right away. I leave the heads standing so the birds can have their turn. After months of growing, cutting, arranging, and selling, it feels right that the garden gives something back.

Sunflowers ask a lot—but they give even more.