It’s time to plant sunflower seeds!
Mid-March is time to start Sunflower seedlings to have blooms around the 4th of July. It is preferable to start seeds in a flat with seed starter soil and let them grow until they are about 5 – 6 inches tall before planting them in the ground. Snails and slugs LOVE to munch on the seedlings. It’s such a bummer to find your seedlings mowed to the ground! Snails will take them to the ground overnight, so starting in a flat will help prevent massive snail damage.
There are so many great varieties of sunflowers so stagger your starts with different colors and sizes through April and May to have a summer’s worth of blooming beauties. Now, go! Plant!
One thing I love about summertime is sitting on the porch in the early morning while it is quiet and still. With the warmer weather, the smells of the garden come to life.
The Campbell’s Gardenias have been in bloom for a month and the fragrance is stunning. 
The little Meyer Lemon has lots of blossoms right now, and I just love to stick my nose in for a heaven-sent aroma. (Nice foot, I’m still in my PJs!) 
Mexican marigolds have an almost overpowering scent, but always a welcome moment as I jostle past them to get my bike out for a ride. 
The bees are buzzing around my sunflowers so I have to share sniffing rights with them. Sunflowers make me sneeze so I keep my nose out of them most of the time, but I do love the very sweet, honey smell. There is nothing like it. 
I constantly wander through the garden, rubbing my fingers on lemon verbena and smelling the spicy scent of the Cecile Brunner rose bushes. The scented geraniums don’t look like much but they pack a scented punch. Herbs are always satisfying, especially when I bring in a bunch for dinner. Hmmmm….the smell of rosemary, basil and sage in the kitchen with fresh cherry tomatoes…..
……sniff,sniff………sniff……… ACHHOOOOOOO! 
How can you not LOVE a sunflower?!
It’s almost time to get sunflower seeds started. I usually get my seeds planted in flats about mid-March, and then transplant about mid-April, or whenever the seedlings have gotten big enough that they won’t get mowed down by snails and slugs. I am going to order from Renee’s Seeds this year and participate in the project highlighted in the info below.
This came from loyal reader (my sister!):
“Thought you might provide info on the Great Sunflower Project on your blog. It is an interesting citizen science project with the goal of understanding more about bee populations on a grand scale. It is a great project for gardeners and involves growing a specific type of sunflower, the Lemon Queen variety, in your garden, then counting the bees that visit. The website has a bee identification section. The seeds are available through the website for $3.00 or they suggest you can get them else where as long as they are the right variety.
