This text is cribbed mercilessly from a newsletter I had for the Streetclub, but I just know that some of the people who read this blog will want to know (and some won’t, so my apologies to them). This Saturday (16th June), B&Q stores will give away 150,000 sunflower plants to children and parents in a bid to get kids in the garden and growing.
The campaign, which is supported by Alan Titchmarch, will see all 360 B&Q stores give away the free sunflower plants to children between 10am and midday. Community groups, including Scouts and school children from the local areas are also invited to pick up their free plant.
So these are Alan Titchmarsh’s tips for growing a sunflower:
- Make sure you plant the sunflower in a spot where it’s sunny all day long (Does he live in England any more?)
- Ensure that the plant has enough space, roughly 30 inches apart from other plants.
- Water the plant as soon as you’ve planted it and then infrequently to encourage the roots to grow deep. (With this rain, that may not be necessary?)
- When it gets around 30cm high, support the plant with a bamboo stick.
- To protect the plant from animals, drapersome netting over the plant. That way the plant will produce lots of seeds (a tasty snack for birds)
So now I know what I was doing wrong when I’ve tried before!
Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net
What a lovely idea….
are we all going to grow some and have a competition to see who can grow the tallest? LOL