Sunflowers are incredibly rewarding flowers to grow and are another winner when it comes to gardening with kids. Either sow them in a straight row, or let your children create a “sunflower house” by sowing them in a square shape.

Here are a few growing tips to get you started:

• As their name suggests, sunflowers love the sun, so make sure you choose a very sunny area of your garden.
• Remember to plant them at the back of garden beds or borders, as they grow very tall.
• Prior to planting, dig up the soil well and compost it liberally. Sunflowers thrive in loose, fertile soil.

• Use your fingers to push sunflower seeds about 2cm deep into moist soil. Space the seeds about 30cm apart. Water well.
• Sunflowers sprout very quickly and you’ll soon notice a host of seedlings popping up.
• Feed your sunflowers with 3:1:5 just before they start to flower, and you can look forward to beautiful blooms.

Uses: Hulled sunflower seeds are a very healthy snack and are good for joint health and immunity. Sunflower petals are also edible and are said to help ease kidney ailments. As an added bonus, sunflowers will also attract seed-eating birds to your garden.