Not terribly far away from where this bed is we have a large maple tree that we have put up various feeders in. There is a squirrel feeder and a number of bird seed feeders, a bunch of feeders for whole ears of corn and a suet feeder. In the spring i add a suet feeder full of small scraps of fabric and string from my crafting so that the birds can have soft and colorful nest material. It has been wonderful all winter and spring to get up in the morning and have coffee and watch out the window. We have had cardinals who i believe nested in our hedges and came out to eat at the feeders. Beautiful and stunning red. Blue jays, who love peanuts and get very mad and vocal when they can't get to them. Big FAT squirrels who play in and around the tree. Mourning doves who also appear to be nesting out back. Of course, all winter we had a small herd of chickadees. We have had a number of woodpeckers with bright red heads! they are little and really like the suet feeders. We currently have grackles, crows, pigeons, finches and a number of other small birds that i have not yet identified. some are very beautiful.
Today when I got home after a long day, i went to peer at the front bed, because, you know, pumpkin might sprout in two days right? LOL and what had been a lot of chinese bean sprouts were now two leafed seedlings. Upon closer inspection, it became obvious that we have lots and lots and lots of black oil sunflower seed volunteer seedlings! The birds and/or squirrels must have dropped seeds in and around the bed, the addition of bunny poops and a nice tilling appears to have given them a good start!
Black oil Sunflowers grow to between 3-5 feet in height. a source of seeds other than from birdfood. They have a higher protein and oil content than other sunflowers, and are preferred by the birds for this reason. They are also harvested to make oil.
If you look closely you can see where some of the seedlings still retain their little seed "hats" as they are coming up. These are also good as sprouts and easily grown. sunflower micro greens, actually sound rather yummy and birdseed is very cheap. Perhaps we will try some different sprouts this winter when the gardens are dormant.
I don't really see any harm in allowing some of them to grow and mingle with the pumpkin plants out front. i may have to pull out some of them but plan to let a number of them grow. I think that they will be beautiful with the sprawl of pumpkin plant, flower, and fruit beneath them. I doubt that we will see any seeds as i am guessing that our bird friends may get to them first.
It is a wonderful safari outside everyday if we look closely enough, pay attention, and be open to the changes being wrought. It is sometimes endemic this need to control. to attempt to manicure our lawns and choose who grows where and under what conditions. We hybridize plants for all sorts of needs. But sometimes, we just need to sit back, see what comes up, and enjoy the simple wonder of it all. Sometimes, we need to let life happen around us, and take all the good that springs forth and use it instead of fighting against it because it wasn't exactly what we had planned/because it doesn't conform to the image that we have created in our heads of how things "should" be. So my little sunflower volunteers are sunny in yet another way. I think that they remind us to take things as they come. to not deny the wonders that exist when we don't plan them. That we recognize that we don't have to control every variable in order for good things to happen and that sometimes, we just need to sit back, be quiet, and acknowledge whatever "is". We need to just "be". We need to grow, wherever we fall, make a space for ourselves and poke our heads out towards the sunshine.
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