Sunflowers galore are blooming this time of year.

The bees are enjoying the sweet nectar and soon the birds will be enjoying the seeds.

If you grow sunflowers, don’t forget to collect seeds for replanting next year. As soon as the flowers have died, cut a few of the spent heads before the birds eat all the seeds.

I cut the sunflower heads as soon as the blooms have faded and remove the chaff by rubbing a finger back and forth across the head to reveal the seeds. This eliminates some of the mess when drying out the seed heads in my garage for 3 to 4 weeks.

Once the heads have fully dried, the seeds will turn dark in color and easily fall from the flower heads with a little coaxing. I store the seeds in a brown paper lunch sack in a cool, dry location over the winter for planting the next spring.

Sunflowers are the gift that just keeps giving year after year. The growing difficulty level for sunflowers is super easy. The satisfaction level is high. Cut fresh flowers for enjoying inside. Leave the rest for the pollinators to enjoy. Collect some seeds to replant the next year. Leave the rest for the birds to enjoy.