{"id":3011,"date":"2020-03-23T07:20:30","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T15:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3011"},"modified":"2020-03-23T07:20:30","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T15:20:30","slug":"keep-on-the-sunny-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/keep-on-the-sunny-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep on the Sunny Side"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sunflower\"<\/a>In 1928, a year before the onset of the Great Depression, the Carter Family, of folk and country music fame, recorded a song, \u201cKeep on the Sunny Side\u201d, that was originally written as a hymn.\u00a0 It became one of their standards and has lifted spirits ever since.\u00a0 The refrain is as follows:<\/p>\n

Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side
\nKeep on the sunny side of life
\nIt will help us every day, it will brighten all the way
\nIf we’ll keep on the sunny side of life<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, as the coronavirus takes its toll, those lyrics have renewed resonance.\u00a0 I have decided to \u201ckeep on the sunny side\u201d by considering the plant with \u201csun\u201d in its Latin and common names, Helianthus anuus, better known as annual sunflower.<\/p>\n

Beneath their gargantuan stalks and showy flowerheads, annual sunflowers are all daisies at heart.\u00a0 This means they are members of the great Compositae–formerly Asteraceae–family.\u00a0 Like other daisies, annual sunflowers sport long, petal-like rays in colors including cream; a range of yellows, gold to golden orange; peach; red; and burgundy. \u00a0Breeders have created amazing bi-colored sunflowers as well.\u00a0 As with other daisies, the tiny true flowers are in the plants\u2019 centers, which may be black, brown or even greenish.\u00a0 Bees make beelines to those centers, as do other pollinators.\u00a0 When the seeds ripen, they attract birds.\u00a0 Raised commercially, annual sunflowers are also the source of the tasty seeds that we buy at supermarkets and convenience stores.<\/p>\n

People in many cultures and countries have taken cheerful sunflowers to their hearts.<\/p>\n

Artist Vincent Van Gogh painted them in France in the 1880\u2019s, but their story began in North America, where they are native to the western parts of Canada and the United States, as well as northern Mexico.\u00a0 Tough and drought tolerant, native sunflowers frequent plains, prairies, and other open, sunny spaces.\u00a0 Today their cultivated and hybridized relatives adorn gardens all over the world.<\/p>\n

Many of us remember planting oversized sunflower seeds in paper cups as children.\u00a0 They sprout quickly, providing maximum gratification no matter how old you are.\u00a0 In fact, the plants grow so fast that you can direct-sow them in the ground as soon as all danger of frost has passed.\u00a0 In my part of the world, the last frost date is around April 15, which is when I will sow my seeds.<\/p>\n

The range of choices is large.\u00a0 If you are longing for a really big, traditional sunflower, choose the classic \u2018Mammoth\u2019, which soars up to 12 feet tall, with huge flower heads and golden petals.\u00a0 \u2018Arikara\u2019, grown by Native Americans, is another tall grower and features vivid golden-orange petals surrounding seed-packed centers.<\/p>\n

Some gardeners prefer sunflowers that are a little less brassy.\u00a0 If you are one of them, choose a variety like \u2018Italian White\u2019, which tops out at five feet, and produces cream to pale yellow flowers around brown centers.\u00a0 \u2018Procut White Nite\u2019 is another pale variety, growing up to six feet tall with vivid black centers.<\/p>\n

If red to reddish bronze flowers are your cup of tea, you will glory in \u2018Claret\u2019, featuring colors reminiscent\u2014at least in some soils and situations\u2014of claret wine.\u00a0 \u2018Claret\u2019 grows five to six feet tall.\u00a0 Slightly shorter, at up to five feet tall, is the racy \u2018Red Courtesan\u2019, with dark red petals and deep black centers.<\/p>\n

Some of us will always need something just a little over the top.\u00a0 If that is your cup of sunflower tea, choose \u2018Big Bear\u2019, with a fluffy, many-petaled flowerhead that looks more like a mum than a sunflower.\u00a0 It grows to about six feet tall with a branching habit.\u00a0 If \u201cover the top\u201d means eye-catching colors, you may be drawn to varieties like \u2018Ring of Fire\u2019, a five-footer with a black center ringed with petals that are red at the base and gold at the tips.\u00a0 \u2018Shock-o-Lat\u2019 is a similar bi-color with chocolate-brown centers and burgundy petals with gold tips.<\/p>\n

Container gardeners need not forsake the charms of sunflowers.\u00a0 Growing three to five feet tall, \u2018Teddy Bear\u201d sports shaggy, multi-petaled flowers with green centers.\u00a0 \u201cSunny Smile\u201d is a true miniature, reaching less than two feet tall at maturity, and featuring traditional golden yellow blooms that grow up to five inches across.\u00a0 Flashy little \u2018Firecracker\u2019 tops out at three feet tall, with big, dark centers and red petals bordered in yellow.<\/p>\n

Flower arrangers love sunflowers because they have a big impact in arrangements and last a long time.\u00a0 Grow plenty so that you will have enough for you, the pollinating insects and the birds.<\/p>\n

True to their name, sunflowers like sunny situations.\u00a0 The tall types work best at the backs of traditional beds, or the centers of round planting areas.\u00a0 Staking may be required, although the traditional varieties tend to have very thick stalks.\u00a0 The leaves may degrade as the growing season goes on.\u00a0 If their tattered looks bother you, simply clip them off.<\/p>\n

Find sunflower seed packets in nurseries, garden centers and other retail outlets.\u00a0 For a good online assortment, try Select Seeds, 180 Stickney Hill Road, Union, CT, 06076; (800) 684-0395; www.selectseeds.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Free print catalog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1928, a year before the onset of the Great Depression, the Carter Family, of folk and country music fame, recorded a song, \u201cKeep on the Sunny Side\u201d, that was originally written as a hymn.\u00a0 It became one of their standards and has lifted spirits ever since.\u00a0 The refrain is as follows: Keep on the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3],"tags":[536,1543,970,2276,980,2275,448,2274],"class_list":["post-3011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-annual-flowers","tag-bird-gardening","tag-daisy-family","tag-easy-grow-plants","tag-habitat-gardening","tag-helianthus-anuus","tag-native-plants","tag-sunflowers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3013,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3011\/revisions\/3013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}