My children love to garden. We don't have any room for flowers or plants that aren't edible, so rather than constantly bombard them with vegetables and herbs we allow them to grow a pot of flowers each. We have found that sunflowers are by far one of the easiest and

most rewarding flower to grow.

Equipment

To begin you will need to have a pot, some soil and sunflower seeds. (Digging tools and a small watering can, are also useful) These can all be easily purchased from your local nursery. Or you can recycle an old bucket, for a pot, and just dig some dirt out of your back garden. The better quality soil or potting mix that you use the bigger your flowers will be. Poor soil quality will result in smaller plants and flowers.

What to do

Ask your child to fill the pot, nearly to the top with soil. Damp it down with a little water (this is where a toy watering can comes in real handy for a child gardener) and then place two or three seeds (evenly spaced) in the pot. Place some more soil on top (about an inch) and then once again dampen the soil. It is quite easy to keep your child interested in this barren pot by encouraging them to water it gently twice a day (the soil needs to remain damp not wet) and to keep it weed free. Mind you, be careful not to pull out any sprouting seeds! Within a week your sunflower should begin to show itself, and if kept in a sunny position should grow quite rapidly once sprouted. It is a good idea to stake your sunflower once it gets to about 10-15cm tall so that it doesn't become top heavy and fall over. It is a good idea to have the pot standing in a sunny but sheltered position. A strong wind can snap a sunflower stalk quite easily. If you find you have planted too many for one pot, just separate and plant in a separate pot (or throw away if you have no more room). 

Interesting sunflower facts and uses

Sunflowers are quite stunning when they bloom and are great to have as a centre-piece on your kitchen table. It can also be a conversation starter for your child when you get visitors.

The sunflowers seeds can be re-used for another pot of sunflowers. Just place a sunflower head into a paper bag, and leave in a dry, warm place. The seeds should fall freely from the flower head (given some time) and will be ready to plant for another crop of sunflowers. Sunflowers can be grown throughout the year as long as they get enough water and light to feed them. 

If you don't think your child can wait for a seed to sprout it may be possible to buy sunflower seedlings from your local nursery. But do be careful and read the back of the packet of seeds that you are purchasing. There are many varieties of sunflowers, some can grow extremely tall. The tallest ever recorded sunflower reached the height of 7.76m (25ft)!

Sunflowers seeds (kernels) are used to make oils and margarines. People even eat the kernels by themselves. But getting the husk off the seed is a chore in itself and better left to the professionals!

I hope this information comes to some good use for parents out there wanting a simple, yet rewarding activity to do with their child or children out in the garden.