Sunflower Circle — Play Beyond The Lines

This has to be one of my new favorite outdoor projects and one that I will continue annually. This was take two on our sunflower circle and so much more successful than round one. What a magical result it has been. Keep reading for the step by step guide on how we prepared and grew our sunflower circle. I will also include what I believe led to our success this year over last.

Check out this reel to see our Sunflower Circle grow!

What is a sunflower circle?

Simply put, it is a collection of sunflowers grown in a circle. Beyond the surface it is a hide out, a house, a fairy home, a secret magical place, and wherever else the imagination can take you. As the sunflowers grow, the center of the circle is left open. This space is where the magic happens. We used this space to lay a blanket out to read, play and picnic. The kids would also play a variety of games and imaginative play using the sunflower circle.

How to set up:

Determine the space available and measure out the ring for the sunflowers.

Till the soil in which you will plant the sunflowers. The first year we planted seeds in a ring that was approximately 1 foot in width. This year we doubled the width as we wanted to make the circumference much thicker with sunflowers.
Pick the variety of sunflowers you prefer to grow. I selected about 3 different varieties as we wanted to have different heights within our circle. This will come down to preference.
Plant the seeds. Be sure to read the seed packet or do some research on your growing zone to determine the best time to plant sunflower seeds in your area. I found it easiest to dig a shallow trench all around the circle to plant the seeds. I repeated this to plant 4 trenches of seeds this year. I was told by a wise friend to plant double what we hope to see as birds and other wildlife love sunflower seeds.
***As you are planting your seeds, be sure to leave space for the door. You will want to easily go in and out of the circle.
Then we simply watered the sunflowers regularly. It was such a fun process to watch grow and transform each week.
Maintenance: We used a weedeater to keep the grass inside the circle cut. After the sunflowers were about a foot tall, I did not weed around them as they quickly overpowered the weeds and they did not seem to be a problem. We had some Japanese Beetles visit our sunflowers. We also had bees and other pollinators so I chose not to treat them. The sunflowers remained healthy throughout the season. So either we did not have a significant population of Japanese Beetles or they did not have a detrimental impact.
End of the season: As the end of the season nears, the sunflower heads will get heavy with seeds and begin to droop and lean. Once I observed that and the petals began to wilt, I would cut the sunflower heads. The stalks would typically bounce back upright as the weight was relieved. Often other blooms would remain for some time. I would lay the heads out for some time to dry. Then the seeds were harvested. Then the kids and I worked together to pull out the seeds. This is great fine motor work as well. After retrieving the seeds, we used the the sunflower heads in several ways. They have been added to our nature boxes, tinker trays and used to paint and stamp with.

What led to success year two vs. year one?

There are a few factors that I believe led to our success this year.

I believe the greatest impact was the amount of seeds planted. We began with 5-7 seed packets last year then planted a few more as the season progressed. Since we harvested seeds, I couldn’t accurately say the equivalent packs we planted this year. We had a sandwich-sized Ziplock bag full of seeds that we planted this year.
With less flowers growing last year, I should have stayed on top of the weeds at the beginning. In some areas the weeds overpowered the flowers so we ended up with patches of sunflowers around the circle.
Doubling the width of the ring was a great move as well. Not only did we have patches the first year but we could easily see straight through the sunflower circle as well. Having the ring thicker added the “hide-out” effect as you couldn’t see through as easily.
We also watered more often this year but I am not sure that made the biggest impact as we seemed to have more rain the previous year.

I hope this breakdown is helpful and that you have great success with your own sunflower circles. How do you envision a sunflower circle being used at your home or workplace?

If you grow your own, we would love to see the results! Please share your experience, photos, tips and questions in the comments below. Experienced sunflower growers, please join in on the conversation as well.