Hey everyone, I need some support here! I've been putting so much effort into my garden this year, and it's looking fantastic! But I've got these mystery plants popping up in my front garden border that I don't recognize. I'm not totally surprised, since I love planting seeds that I haven't seen before. I've been watering, mulching, and feeding them, excited to see what blooms this summer.
Today, with the help of Google Lens, I discovered that I've unintentionally nurtured a bunch of common ragwort plants. But the real kicker is that I also have some sunflowers sprouting at the front of the border! I definitely didn't plant them, and I'm not a fan of sunflowers at all. So, where did they come from?
I guess I'll leave the ragwort for the pollinators since I love seeing bees around, but I'm not sure what to do about the sunflowers—they're going to be huge! Any advice?
2 Answers
Just so you know, not all sunflowers grow to 6ft! There are smaller varieties, and bees go crazy for them. I don’t even plant sunflowers anymore; they pop up every year thanks to the bird feed I leave out. Sometimes it's nice to see what comes up without any effort!
Sounds like those sunflowers might have come from birds! They often drop seeds while feeding in gardens. You might also have squirrels hiding sunflower seeds around your plot. If you don’t mind them growing, you can just let them be! They’re actually great for pollinators too, even if you don’t care for them yourself. Let nature surprise you!
Squirrels definitely play a role too! They can bury seeds, and then you end up with a mini sunflower patch. Just embrace it!
Yeah, I found the same thing! I used to try and grow sunflowers but now they just come up wherever the birds have dropped seeds from the feeders. It’s kinda fun to see where they pop up!
That’s a good point! I’ve stopped trying to cultivate sunflowers, but I still get them from the birdseed leftovers every summer.