LADYBUG: SUNFLOWERS ARE POPULAR IN ART, GARDENS

Sunflowers are the "in" thing. Everywhere you look there are sunflowers. This versatile flower is the subject of many artists. They are woven into fabrics, made into perfume, pasted on mailboxes, used as trim for straw hats and used as the motif for all types of home decorating, including dishes.

This flower, a native to North America, is big and trendy. It has only been the past few years that it has been used so widely. Now it is useful as a food, in food products in the form of sunflower oil, and as nutritional value, the seeds can be used for snacks. For many years they have been a favorite food of the birds.

You may think of sunflowers only as the gigantic ones that reach for their namesake in the sky and tower to heights of 8 feet or more.

Geneva Morton, 1004 Themis, has grown some of the giant ones this year. When a school boy came by selling flower seeds this spring, she said she would buy some sunflower seeds if he had them. Although they were not among those he had with him, he soon ran home for them, and these were the seeds she purchased. They were planted between the cannas.

These were the tall variety and the seed heads were so heavy, they had a tendency to bend down, one weighing 8 pounds. Morton, who was 80 years old recently, has lived here for 32 years and is the mother of five daughters.

Breeders have developed a wide range of sunflower heights. Burpees lists varieties that grow from 1 foot in height, such as Sunspot, which is only 18 inches tall and has flowers up to 12 inches across.

For years our birds and those of my family in Southern Illinois feasted on sunflowers, which were field grown on medium height plants on the Girard Farm in East Cape Girardeau, Ill.

In addition to a wide range of heights, sunflowers come in a wide range of colors, according to the National Garden Bureau. While brilliant yellow is still popular, it is possible to choose from creamy white to bronze, mahogany, and even purple and orange shades, with some varieties offering bicolors.

The center disk on sunflowers, where the seeds develop, also offers a change of color as the flowers mature. Most start out as green-yellow, turning to yellow and change to a dark brown as the seeds ripen.

Most of the giant sunflowers are grown for their seeds, which are used for oil production as well as for bird seed, livestock feed or human food, says Dr. Ray Rothenberger of the state Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri. He also says seeds from the plant should be harvested as soon as they are mature or birds will quickly consume many of them. When the birds begin to pick the outer row of seeds, harvest time has arrived.

To harvest sunflowers, cut the seed head with a portion of stem still attached. Hang the heads in a warm, well-ventilated place to dry. After the head has thoroughly dried, which may take several weeks, the seeds may be removed by rubbing over them lightly. Store them in an air-tight container, jar or plastic bag.

An article in The Gardener, the official magazine of the Men's Garden Clubs, stated that sunflowers make birds, bees and human beings happy. Easy to grow, they like full sun. Cucumbers make an excellent planting companion as the cukes can use the sunflower stalks as trellises.

As a snack food sunflower seeds are normally salted and roasted. For those who do not want to add salt, they may be roasted. Seeds are spread in a shallow tray with oil, butter or a little salt and roasted at 250 degrees until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

For those who use salt, the seeds are covered with salted water and brought to a boil. They are allowed to simmer for about two hours and then drained and dried. After they are dried they are baked in an oven as described previously in a shallow pan, coated with salad oil and sprinkled with salt.

Sunflowers normally love full sun, exhibiting little or no shade tolerance. Seeds that have been dried will normally remain viable for two years in storage.

Seeds normally take 7 to 12 days to germinate. Although there is no particular soil temperature required for germination, sunflowers possess no frost tolerance so it is important that all danger of frost has passed before planting.

The versatility and variety of today's sunflowers offer something for almost every gardener. If you haven't tried this native American plant, give it a try next year.

~Mary Blue is a resident of Cape Girardeau and an avid gardener.