Beautiful, yellow and sunny are words that might come to mind when you think about sunflowers. They are the staple flower of any UK allotment plot and remind us all of the beauty of summer. Just passing a field of these gorgeous flowers is enough to make anyone smile.
There are so many reasons why you should grow more flowers at your allotment plot, but sunflowers are particularly special!
What if I told you sunflowers are also incredibly valuable to our planet? In fact, they have the incredible ability to cleanse the very ground we rely upon.
5 WAYS SUNFLOWERS ARE VALUABLE TO OUR PLANET
- They clean our soil
Sunflowers can absorb many different toxins and chemicals from the soil and then store those chemicals at the cellular level. Once they’re absorbed, they won’t leach back out again. Not all plant species can handle absorbing all those chemicals — many would die from the heavy metals in the soil.
They can even absorb radioactive waste, which is pretty cool!
2. They are good for our health
tudies found that consumption of seeds — including sunflower seeds — was linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Sunflower seeds are a source of many vitamins and minerals that can support your immune system and increase your ability to fight off viruses.
3. The seeds are delicious
You can eat sunflower seeds and they are delicious! Try roasting them or even frying them with a little olive oil. They can be used in bread or sprinkled onto porridge or salads for a yummy crunch! As well as vitamin E, they contain vitamins A and B, protein, iron, calcium and nitrogen too!
4. They have medicinal properties
A tea made from the flowers is used in the treatment of malaria and lung ailments. The flowering head and seeds are febrifuge, nutritive and stomachic. The seed is also considered to be diuretic and expectorant. It has been used with success in the treatment of many pulmonary complaints.
5. Wildlife love them.
Spring is the time to sow and plant sunflowers – and the bees, birds and other wildlife will love you for it. Sunflowers are fascinating plants, and a valuable food source for birds, bees and insects. They’re also very easy to grow, so give them a try and enjoy a little extra dose of nature in your life.
As if you needed anymore reasons to love sunflowers anyway! Not only do they make your allotment look pretty, but they do a pretty good job at being productive too!
There you are, sunflowers are not only beautiful summer flowers to grow, they also literally help to keep our planet and us humans healthy.
Sunflowers are also so easy to grow.
- 1. Put some damp soil in a plastic cup so it almost comes up to the top. …
- Drop a sunflower seed into the hole. …
- Put the cup somewhere sunny – a bright windowsill would be perfect. …
- Your plant should pop up through the soil after about 1 or 2 weeks. …
- When your plant grows too big for the cup, plant it in bigger flowerpots.
Sunflowers can be planted outside from around March, or as soon as your last frost date has passed.
Happy gardening!
Thank you, I really didn’t know all this about a sunflower. I like that they can clean the soil while being a super food for us.