i love sunflowers just as much as the next flower-loving girl but this year I wanted something different. When you plant sunflowers in your soil, be aware that you are basically planting weeds! Meaning that they will come back year after year, without fail! And you don’t have to do a thing (besides water!) because they reseed.

This year I specifically purchased salmon-colored zinnia seeds and pastel strawflower seeds from Etsy. I was so excited to try something new! I took great care of those seedlings and watched as they sprouted, and waited. As spring turned to summer I kept noting the leaves on the sprouts as they grew. I started to realize that a lot of them looked a lot like… sunflowers.

To my dismay my sunflowers that I had planted last year reseeded so effectively that they completely, absolutely, and unashamedly took over my entire garden. They chocked out all of my seeds and simply wiped them out!! Needless to say that once they bloomed and even before they were fully dried out, I grabbed my gardening gloves and pulled each and every one of those stalky creatures out! I’m hoping for MUCH LESS reseeds for next year! Wish me luck!!

Here are some pictures of the very, very last of these pretties before they are done, done, done for the season.