Sunflower Thinking

For a few years, I tried growing sunflowers in my garden at home. To my delight, they would sprout and grow. Apparently, their growth was also the delight of other living beings in my garden because they never got past three-inches. I tried covering them, using chicken wire to protect them, and a variety of other techniques to no avail. When I started gardening a plot at the Duxbury Community Garden five years ago, I was joyful to find that I could direct sow sunflower seeds and the overwhelming majority grew. As part of our goal is to repair and enrich the soil, I planted a great many types of sunflowers. They are amazing soil cleansers and remove metals and other toxins.

My hands down favorite sunflowers are these The Birds and Bees (affiliate link) sunflowers from Renee’s Garden. They are also the favorite of the chickadees that express their joy and gratitude with lovely songs in my garden. If you are going to plant sunflowers in your garden, then these are the ones I recommend most highly for genuinely happy plants that bring joy to all the living things.

The truth is that my favorite season here in Vermont is winter. Snow brings a kind of quiet to the woods that brings me peace and a sense of cozy well-being. The glow of a full moon on deep snow is like a prayer. The winter offers a permission slip to just stop or to slow down and focus on what matters. So, when mud season starts to arrive, like it is this week,I can’t help but feel a little sad. Not only is mud season a difficult time when getting up and off the mountain can become impossible for days or even weeks at a time, but it is followed by black flies. It feels like my peace is melting along with the snow.

It is precisely this moment when I re-frame this season of change and being in between as a time to get serious about garden dreaming and planning. Thinking about chickadees these happiest of sunflowers help me get through this muddy and buggy time.