Identifying Flowers With the Children in Your Life

Sunflowers Are a Great Project to Share With Your Children as You Teach Them About Gardening and Identifying Flowers

Are you looking for a fun outdoor project to share with your children or grandchildren this spring and summer? Look no further than the all-American sunflower. A full-blown flower or vegetable garden can require too much attention when you’re busy with little ones. But growing sunflowers is quite another thing. With them, you can share the pleasure of growing and identifying flowers, attracting wildlife and even making an afternoon snack.

The Right Spot

Sunflowers need what their name suggests – plenty of sun. Find a spot in the yard which gets at least six to eight hours of bright sunshine every day and this is where your sunflowers will thrive. The soil should be rich, but not too damp. Once the flowers are established they’ll just need a good once-a-week soaking. Enriching your soil with compost is always a good idea.

The Right Variety

There are more varieties of sunflower than you might imagine. You’ll want to choose the right variety to suit your purpose. Better yet, choose several varieties and introduce children to the pleasure of identifying flowers in the garden. Here are a few to consider:

For Cut Flowers

If you’re looking to cut the flowers and bring them indoors then consider Soraya. Soraya stands six feet tall and the strong stems support fabulous cut flower blooms that won’t droop and fall over. Italian White also produces pretty blooms – an abundance of them. The plant will reach five to seven feet in height and produce delicate four inch blooms. The Giant Sungold variety offers lush double blooms that are eight inches wide atop six foot stems.

For Attracting Wildlife

Birds, bees and butterflies all enjoy sunflowers. Some are especially attractive to pollinators. Lemon Queen, for instance, is very popular with bees. So, too, is Super Snack Mix which produces gigantic seeds ideal for eating whether you are a bird, a bee or a little kid. Talking with children about supporting the endangered bee population and watching them come to visit your sunflowers would be a great summer project.

For a Splash of Color

You can plant several varieties of sunflowers and enjoy a number of different colors. The Little Becka variety stands just three feet tall and shoots out fabulous six inch blooms with petals that start out golden then become burnt orange before fading back to gold on the edge. Strawberry Blonde sunflowers start out rosy at the base and fade to yellow at the tips.

For Height Alone

A chief delight of sunflowers can be their enormous height. Children especially enjoy these towering beauties. If you want to astound kids with a giant variety, choose Mammoth Russian sunflowers which soar nine feet and over in the air and produce fabulously large seeds.

As you can see, growing sunflowers with the children in your life can be fun, educational and beautiful. Most varieties grow quickly so little kids don’t have to wait long to enjoy the rewards of planting. Be sure to take time identifying flowers with nameplates so that children can have the pride of properly naming each and every variety you plant.

When you choose sunflowers, you may be looking for different things. When you choose plant markers, however, you’ll always want ones that look great and last. At Kincaid Plant Markers, that is precisely what you’ll find: great looking plant markers that look great season after season. Visit us online and order yours today.