October 28, 2008

The bloom is off the sunflower.

It is a miserable, rainy day today. I am soaked to my knickers (too much info, I know).

So to cheer me up I'm taking a little trip-down-recent memory lane. The sunflowers that I've talked about ad nauseam are officially gone, and I'd have to deem their (our) debut season a success. When I was hacking the last stalks down the other week, a couple of neighbors paused to pay tribute to my little sunflower patch that was (that's a slightly romanticized interpretation of actual events. But they really did pause to say nice things.).

Let's remember the good times together, shall we?



seedlings






And here I am with the largest lady in the crop, "Big Bertha," on a seriously unseasonably warm day a couple of weeks ago (can it really be 40 degrees out today?!).

I was going to dry out the seeds for next year, and actually started to. Only to return to little worms and other "miracles of nature" (formerly embedded in the bloom heads) crawling about my counter. Ewww. So I decided to just leave them outside for the creatures to enjoy.

Apparently, I inadvertently opened an all you can eat buffet.

'Til next year, my dear sunflowers.

18 comments:

Katie @ makingthishome.com said...

Those sunflowers are HUGE! I love that picture.
Next year I would love to grow some flowers in our new home in Germany, though I can't imagine my skills or this weather would get things as big as what you have. They're so beautiful. And then comes autumn! Thanks for bringing older photos back up.

Rue said...

Awwww... that is so sad Laura :(

You know what though, we had sunflowers that kept coming back over and over, so I don't think you need to do anything and they should be back next summer :)

hugs,
rue

katiedid said...

I love a good sunflower! There is nothing quite so cheerful. I think we will plant our first at this new-old house next spring. Yours are glorious!

Sue said...

Big Bertha is a really BIG sunflower!!! I heard it snowed up in Jersey today....stay warm and dry.....Sue.

Anonymous said...

Just beautiful! I can't wait for next year now either. I think I might try some myself next year. Are they hard to grow? Do they need lots of space? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

heidi said...

LOVE the pic of the sunflower & the house tops!
xoh
p.s... nope, can't believe it's friggin' 41 degrees out there!

Anonymous said...

I love sunflower!
Thanks and looking forward for more of your posting soon!

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

Katie & Desiree -- They were soooo easy to grow! I soaked the (79 cent!) packet of sunflower seeds overnight in water (I think this step was key), then planted. First in a small pot to see what would happen, then when they were about 4 inches tall (like, 2 weeks later!) I transplanted. They need very, very little space -- I planted them inches away from other plants. My soil looked dark and rich (it was our first year in the house so hard to say how it "got" that way) but I did absolutely nothing other than water them. I've never, ever planted anything before and these were a huge (literally!) success.

katiedid -- ditto! Give it a shot. It was my first year in the new/old house, too. :-)

Rue -- this is VERY exciting news!! Maybe they'll come back on their own?!

Heidi -- I am freezing my ever loving behind off right now. Grrr.

Andy -- why thank you, kind sir! I love them too. :-)

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

Sue -- sorry; I missed you just now! Thankfully it did NOT snow by me...you would have heard me scream all the way in GA. ;-)

Ms. Tee said...

I must have missed your sunflower post back in the summer - those are gorgeous! I hope they come back for you! :)

Tina said...

I love sunflowers and yours were great. Isn't it nice to know that there will be another season of them to look forward to.
T

beachy in the burbs said...

I adore that pic of you! Your hat is so darn cute :) I can't believe winter is now here. It was freezing here last night and I hear it's snowing further up north. Can't believe it! It was warm as a spring day here in DC just this past Sunday.

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing the journey of your beautiful sunflowers this year.

I keep saying "when I grow up I want to be a green thumb and plant sunflowers". Hopefully one day mine will look half as pretty as yours.

Blessings - Debbie

The Summer Kitchen Girls said...

Gotta love sunflowers... they are such happy flowers! Can't help but smile when you see one, so keep these pictures close all winter long!
Isn't that Dame test a hoot? We (as you can tell) had a little too much fun with it!!
Karla & Karrie

Anonymous said...

That's it! I'm planting them next year. They look so sunny and bright...and it's so cold and dreary today...way to light up my day! :) Thanks!

Jean Martha said...

awesome post!!!!

Anonymous said...

Aw...sad...
But I think it's the yearly return that makes them so precious. :)

j.cro said...

I LOVE your hat! You look FABULOUS!!