Pondering the eradication of a sunflower forest

Something has been eating our sunflowers. For the past few years, they have sprouted enthusiastically in the little soil pods lined up inside the patio doors. They’ve survived being transplanted in the cutting garden. And just as they start developing more leaves, they are snipped off at the ground.

I’m thinking of borrowing my brother’s crittercam this year to find out why our sunflowers no longer shine. My boys used to treat our sunflower patch like a forest, hiding amongst the stalks that rocketed up to 3 metres tall, and supported platter-sized blooms. Since sunflowers are one of the simplest plants to grow, if given a chance, they are ideal for a child’s garden or balcony container. There are dwarf varieties for more compact plots or pots.

Seeing what emerges from the ground where a seed was placed, is rather magical. Engaging kids in the process is so easy and so rewarding, especially if they can eat what they sow. For some new ways to plant the gardening seed in your kids, writer Tiffany Doerr Guerzon has some ideas in her article “Gardening science for kids”.

Kids need their own child-sized gardening tools. The Very Hungry Caterpillar line of products has everything you’ll need to equip little gardeners. from gloves to rakes and watering cans. The Cool Stuff feature includes some Eric Carle inspired tools.

Maybe it’s a very hungry caterpillar that has been cutting the life of our sunflowers short. It’s strange that whatever is attacking the sunflowers, ignores everything else in the garden. And there are no caterpillar-sized holes burrowed through the tomatoes, lettuce and kale. Those plants make it through the season.

It’s time to plant the sunflower seeds again, if I dare. Is it worth the potential disappointment?  Will they thrive this year? If the crittercam reveals that a critter is the culprit, will the war begin?  Extermination, eviction, fortification…will I be willing to turn my tranquil garden into a battlefield?  Poppies spring to mind.

And now this idea follows. Some will be sacrificial sunflowers, planted in the garden to await their fate. A few will be planted in a sunflower safety zone, on the patio, close to the house, secure in a container. It’s not exactly magic but it should do the trick.

I hope you create some garden adventures of your own this spring.