Have You Seen the Lemon Queen?

I broke with an age-old tradition that I've maintained for a long, long time.  This year I planted flowers in the garden.  GASP!  I don't dislike flowers.  I rather like them.  It is just that if I am going to grow something, I want to spent the time and energy growing things that we can eat.  Vegetables have beautiful flowers - the flowers of sweet peas and squash come to mind.

In going through my seed inventory this winter, I ran across a packet of Lemon Queen Sunflower Seeds that was included as a Free Item with my Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds order.  The seed was a couple of years old and so I was concerned the germination might not be good.  I figured I would plant it anyway and sowed it so that it bordered the Glass Gem Corn and Butternut Squash.  The Lemon Queen sunflowers grew and grew and grew.  I am not exaggerating when I tell you that some of the plants are 10 feet tall!

Lemon Queen Sunflowers 2018

The flowers keep coming and as you get closer to to them, you can see bees buzzing all around them.  The flowers are branching, meaning that there is not just one main flower on top.  The light yellow color of the lemon queen is a bit different from other sunflowers we've planted.

The light, but bright yellow of the sunflower contrasted against the red barn really stands out.

I must say that I have been a former flower skeptic, but I will likely plant these Lemon Queen Sunflowers again!  I even pulled a few and put them in a vase on the kitchen windowsill for Tricia to enjoy.

The next morning as the morning sun was filtering in the window, the flowers were still holding up well.  It is hard to be sluggish or unhappy looking at that bright yellow flower.

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  - Luke 12:27

Lemon Queen Sunflowers.  Yep, I'd recommend them - even in a vegetable garden...  I will attempt to save some seeds from the flowers.  I'll let you know if the seed saving was successful.