In many cultures, the sunflower represents a strong symbol with variations to what does it mean in each cultural symbolism. Inkas worshiped this flower because it looks like Sun that gives life (life-giving Sun). Its name comes from the words “helios” and “antos” which mean sun and flower so its scientific name is Helianthus. There are 35+ species of sunflowers and your job is just to chose which ones will you add to your garden. They come from the same family as the Daisies – Asteraceae family. Full of calcium, the seeds of this plant are very healthy.

These beautiful flowers will cheer up any space, indoor or outdoor. If you want to add some sunflower colours and beauty to your garden, here are some ideas. There are different kinds of sunflowers among which are tall sunflowers, short sunflowers, and coloured sunflowers.

The most used for gardening are types like American Giant, Skyscraper, Mammoth Russian, Pacino, Taiyo, Suntastic Jellow, Italian White, Teddy Bear, Little Becka, Earthwalker, Sundance Kid, Strawberry Blonde, Chianti, and many more.

How to plant sunflowers?

First, make sure that you pick the right place for your sunflowers. Look at the Sun movements for the day and chose the spot that gets six to eight hours of direct sunlight.

Make a scaled sketch of your garden so you have an idea where will you put your sunflowers according to light. This is especially useful if you’re planning on combining different species of sunflowers. In that case, you want to take care of the positioning of the taller and shorter types. Short sunflowers should be facing the side of the garden so that taller ones don’t overshadow them. Medium ones should follow and then, the tallest ones go last.

Before planting sunflowers you should prepare the soil. Plough about 10 inches deep, add organic matter, organic fertiliser, and sand. Then rake the soil and you are ready to add sunflowers. When planting you want to leave at least 6-12 inches of space between the seeds depending on the size of sunflowers that you’re planting. You will add 3-4 seeds in each hole that you previously made. Make sure that seeds are put in depth at least twice as deep as the seed length. Water deeply and pay attention to rain quantities so you don’t add too much water.

Wilting leaves are a good indication that more water is needed. Take care of the weed around your flowers regularly. When sunflowers are grown you will probably need stakes to hold them in place.

Garden ideas

1. You can combine sunflowers with vegetables since sunflowers put shadows on lower plants and that’s exactly what vegetables need.
2. A DIY pyramid constructed from wood can be a beautiful decoration in your garden. Once constructed, lay garden beds filled with soil onto the pyramid. Sunflowers planted this way will pop out of the pyramid beautifully. Play with sizes and types of sunflowers to give your pyramid an extra edge.
3. You can try planting sunflowers next to your fence. This will create a sunflower wall which is a beautiful decoration plus it gives you some privacy in your garden. The Helianthus Mammoth is recommended species for this kind of decoration. You can also use this method to decorate walls in your garden.
4. Do one row of sunflowers and then the row in front of some shorter flowers. It will create a great height dynamic for your space.
5. For the entrance decoration add a few sunflowers in a pot or directly plant in the soil next to the entrance. It will feel like a warm welcome for everyone who visits you.
6. You can use dwarf sunflowers for basket decoration. Several pots of dwarf sunflowers will fit perfectly into a basket and you get colourful boho décor wherever you put it.
7. Using pots near to the plants in beds adds extra dimension and expression to your garden.
8. If you love using palettes for garden décor you will love this idea. Make a small shelf using some old wooden palettes. Lay wooden plan beds on a shelf and plan sunflower seeds. Results will be exquisite.
9. A sunflower bag can be a great decoration for your entrance, wall, or any other place you choose. Just add soil to your bag as you would to the pot and add sunflowers that are fully grown.
10.  You can use colours to make a theme for the parts of your garden so you can combine sunflowers with other yellow flowers for an eclectic look.
11. Adding birdhouses or fairy houses to make your garden look like it jumped out of a fairy-tale.
12. If you have an old rusty car spending years in your backyard, it’s a perfect opportunity to turn it into a flower pot. Just imagine a bunch of sunflowers reaching out the car windows or the truck.
13.  If you have an old bathing tub you can use it to decorate your garden. Use it as a pot for sunflowers and maybe other plants along and place it near some wall or in the middle of the garden plant bed.
14.  You can plant sunflowers along the walkway line. It will make a great addition to your walks and in addition, you will get wonderful smells when coming through.
15.  The wheelbarrow is a very popular decoration idea since it looks great when used as a pot for flowers. You can use one or several, either way, this idea will brighten your space and add extra creativity to your garden. You can combine sunflowers and other shorter flowers or add pots with different flowers next to your wheelbarrow. This decoration adds to any composition if you are brave enough to experiment.

If you’re still not sure what to look for when shopping, here you can find a list of wheelbarrows. For a very affordable price, you can use a wheelbarrow to make your gardening easier or to turn it into a pot.

Enjoy your gardening time with sunflowers that add happiness to every place.