Experienced grower's notes on Sunflower

I've been growing plants seriously for over fifteen years and Sunflower remains a reliable favourite. For anyone starting out: the most critical thing is avoiding any fertiliser which would favour grasses over flowers. Everything else follows from that.

dog walkers or trampling on unmown meadow areas is the challenge that trips up most beginners and some experienced growers too. I've been growing mine in a wildlife pond margin planting for three seasons now and the results are consistently good. self-seeding and naturalising without annual replanting is what makes it worth coming back to year after year. peak flowering from early to midsummer is when I show it off — it earns its place fully then.