 | What is ten-feet tall, has 20 heads, is loaded with pollen, and attracts chickadees, sweat bees, wasps, bumble bees, and honeybees? This summer we have been hosting a volunteer sunflower, which erupted like Jack's beanstalk in the middle of our quinoa patch. I have not been able to get a firm ID: produces pollen, heads are 4-8 inches across, and currently we have 20 blooms from one stalk! Favorite name contenders: Ring-of-Fire, Solar Chocolate, Lemon Queen, Music Box, The Joker, Firecracker, Gold Rush, and Vincent... |
Not that the name matters; the bees love the abundant pollen, and we will have plenty of organic sunflower seeds to share with our backyard birds this winter.
Our own variety of "ring-of-fire": here we are burning old brood comb and enjoying the hot colors and lovely beeswax aroma. Perfect for a cool summer evening.
Photos © T. Byrne 2015
Photos © T. Byrne 2015
RSS Feed
