The Sunflower

When I was a child, my mom had this brother named Jimmy. I do not really remember much about him. However, there is one memory that has always stood out to me.

I was in the hallway and my Uncle Jimmy came over to visit. He knelt down and gave me a packet of sunflower seeds. He urged me to plant them and grow nice, big sunflowers. Large sunflowers that can touch the sky. I promised him I would do my best.

I do not know where that packet of seeds went. However, once in awhile, I did think about planting sunflowers. I want to hold up to that promise I made nearly two decades ago. For awhile, I thought I just had a weird occasional obsession in wanting to grow sunflowers. Then I remembered my Uncle Jimmy.

Since I have decided to pick up gardening this summer, I already tried to grow sunflowers once. I tossed a few seeds into the ground back in June. I am pretty sure the birds ate them though. Then I tried again last week. This time, I germinated four sunflower seeds in egg carton cups covered with some Press N Seal to keep the birds away.

Lo, and behold! I finally got my very first sunflower sprout! I moved the sprout into the container I brought one of the herbs home in. I am determined to nurse this little fella until it is big enough to fend for itself in my garden. My plan is to move it into the ground very soon. Once I get some eggs, I will create a crushed egg barrier around the sunflower to keep the rollie pollies away. They already ate my first pumpkin plant. It took a lot of work, eggshells, and bug traps to save my second pumpkin plant until it was big enough to handle an occasional nibble from the rollie pollies.

I will most definitely keep you folks updated on the progression of my sunflowers. I really do hope they grow. You see, I got Grey-Striped Sunflower seeds and I read they can grow up to six feet tall! Maybe even bigger. It will be great to have a few sunflowers in the backyard in memory of my Uncle Jimmy.

Also, I am very sorry for not posting anything the past couple of weeks. I got sidetracked with a few things in life and I also had writer's block. I was not sure what to really talk about. I felt self-conscious and figured maybe my gardening tales might be too boring or redundant. After a few days, I decided, "Forget it. Who cares what other people might think! If anything, I should be doing this blog for myself!" Being able to share my ventures with you all is just an added bonus.