Sister Pickles always puts sunflowers in a bed at the bottom of the garden. This year she chose two different varieties. One is 'Sunspot', a 4' dwarf sunflower with 8-10" blooms. The other is 'Beach' that gets about 5-6' and has 3" blooms on it. Then she plants cucumbers underneath as a living mulch.

These are the 'Sunspot':



And these are the 'Sunspot' with the 'Beach' behind them:



I noticed today that many of the Beach flowers are slightly different. In the photo there's a white one, the only white one in the bed. And some are a darker shade of yellow or gold than others. The cucumbers are now gone but the bees are having a field day with the sunflowers. Mostly bumbles but others too.

They grow wild around here.

I am trying to grow some Mammoth sunflowers in an EarthBox type of container this year. So far they are six feet tall and growing...sucking up a lot of water.

Great photo GoDawgs , I've been Sunflower seed shopping and love the old fashioned kind. So many new colorful varieties don't look like a real sunflower although the white is pretty. My neighbor grew a Teddy Bear sunflower in a bucket - the hummingbirds went crazy over it.
I found a cool video while hunting seeds online.

These are a variety called China Cat.../Users/Dan/Downloads/IMG_0190 Large.jpeg
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Those sure are gorgeous Yak54.
My sunflower seed hunt continues , there are some cool ones at Sunflower Selections, it's hard to chose.
Has anyone tried Sunflower Steves " Van Gogh's Fantasy Mix " ?

Thanks, I like them and the bees really love them. Got them at Quail Seeds along with some lettuce seed I was looking for. https://www.quailseeds.com/

Has anyone tried the pink or purple Teddy Bear Sunflowers. I wasn't sure if this is a real thing or if they look like their picturea on Etsy?

WindyWI1968 wrote: ↑Wed May 28, 2025 5:34 pm Has anyone tried the pink or purple Teddy Bear Sunflowers. I wasn't sure if this is a real thing or if they look like their picturea on Etsy?

I have grown Teddy Bear before. It was very fluffy as the pictures show, but yellow rather than pink/purple. I think those images have been recoloured or made by AI. I've seen some absolutely ridiculous seeds on eBay, like tomatoes the colour of Skittles, with each fruit on the truss being a different colour.

Yeah I will see what theae"pink and purple" teddybear sunflowers do. I got them on Etsy . I thought it looked unbelievable.