Ideas for Kids' Sunflower Gardens

Many ideas abound for kids' sunflower gardens. Here are a few sunflower activities to do with the kids.

Sunflower house
Make the kids' sunflower garden into a fun flower garden. Create a sunflower house. Grow tall varieties of sunflowers. Plant them closer to each other than you normally might, about four inches apart. When they are at least six feet tall, start trying to gather them together in spots at the tops. You can use old pantyhose or strips of landscaping cloth to tie some of the stems together. This will make a house under which kids can explore all sorts of fantastic ideas.

Sunflower bouquet
Use the shorter varieties for best results. Pick the sunflowers, leaving about eight to ten inches of stem. Try to include a few leaves too. This will help prolong the life of the bouquet. Add on some other greens, like ferns, and possibly other flowers such as baby's breath. Put these in a vase as soon as you cut them to help them last longer. You may want to get some cut flower preservative available at a florist shop or home and garden store. The preservative helps the sunflowers' longevity.

One tall, one short
Plant several different rows of sunflowers. In one row, use a short variety. In another row, use a taller variety. This will make the sunflower garden varied and create room for the different types of sunflowers. You could continue in this fashion if you have lots of room for sunflowers.

Sunflower seeds
Sunflower seeds are fun to pick off the heads and roast in the oven for a quick snack. It will take a little over three months to get sunflower seeds. You can harvest the sunflower seeds when the middle of the flower starts to turn brown. You have a couple options at this point. You can either fight wildlife and leave the seeds to dry naturally on the stalk or cut the head, keeping about six inches of stem, and hang it up somewhere safe to dry. Put a piece of pantyhose or a bag on the head to catch any drying seeds that might fall out.

Once you have the seeds, you can roast them. Preheat an oven to about 300 degrees. Lay out the seeds on a cookie sheet. Make sure they are evenly spaced for better roasting. You can add salt, pepper and other herbs to taste, but it's not necessary. Add a little cooking oil if you want to get them browned quicker. Olive oil works well because it will not brown them as fast and tastes good with the sunflower seeds' naturally nutty flavor.

Here are a few other ideas for sunflower seeds.

1. Hang them in a bird feeder for the birds. A lot of birds, such as blue jays and goldfinches, love sunflowers and will thank you with their presence if you put out some for them.

2. Create mosaics with sunflower seeds. You can arrange sunflower seeds in patterns and glue to card stock to make cards and other crafts.

3. Keep the seeds for next year's planting. Store the seeds in a dry, cool place, such as a seed saver or plastic baggie. Make sure the sunflower seeds are completely dry before storing to be sure no mold grows on the seeds.