Sunflowers
A decade ago, we grew a few sunflowers to plant in our flower borders. Now they have colonised our veg garden. And over the years there they have hybridised, pollen exchanged by the bees to produce seeds that you can't buy anywhere.
This is a single plant that is four meters tall and has over twenty flower heads on it. Fabulous for the pollinators, and we deadhead to keep them coming. We drop the seedheads onto the soil where the field mice, voles, blackbrids and finches can feed.
The sunflowers provide useful shade (but not too much) for the food crops that would otherwise need a lot more water. We grow potatoes, courgettes, pumpkins, and beetroot, as well as salad lettuces under them.
And yes, we do cut them and bring them into the house to enjoy their beauty.
