SUNFLOWERS 

32.4 degrees here on the mountain above Peacham Pond and there's no promise of sunshine for the next two days. Rain will turn to snow and by tomorrow we'll have 6" of wet snow to welcome us. The bad weather will include high winds as much as 40 mph so with the heavy snow, loss of electricity and bad travel are guaranteed.

This is the time of year we begin planting some annual flower seeds to transplant in the garden for use as cut flowers.  We start the seeds in flats inside the house  and later move to our small greenhouse when it's warmer and heating costs are lower. We typically hold off until just after Memorial Day to plant outside but in more recent years we have sorted out the weather before getting started. Recurrent cold weather of less than 30 degrees has been more common so it's worth the wait. If you haven't tried sunflowers before, here's an article from Johnnny's Seeds, a seed vendor I have used for +40 years. They have a nice selection. We plant some of the larger varieties along the fences and the road to serve as a customer magnet and then smaller flowered varieties to use in arrangements.   I'm including this advertisement from Johnnys because it's a good, one spot location to see a number of varieties. Johnnys isn't the only sunflower vendor out there, just one I have confidence in.

Savor the Summer with Sunflowers (johnnyseeds.com)