I always plant sunflowers and then the birds eat the seeds and drop them hither and yon in the yard. I just let them come up wherever they wanna. One thing I do in the fall is I cut some of the big seed heads off and nail it to a tree outside my window. This way, the birds will come and eat and you can see them. Some folks take all the seeds out and dry them and put them in sacks. But I don't -- I just leave the seed pods whole.
The sunflowers attract a lot of birds. I have some sunflowers in the front yard by my country mailbox ... it's up on a post. I can see the goldfinches eating out of the sunflowers out my front screened in door.
I also have blue bachelor buttons that come up each year and I think the butterflies are attracted to these. I have many monarch butterflies that dance and play up and down my walkway up to my door. I don't know if it is the bachelor buttons they like, or some of my other flowers.
I also plant herbs in with the tall wildflowers. Dill, yarrow, two kinds of chives, garden mint. And catnitp, too, grows everywhere up my walk and all over my yard.
I have an herb garden across the front middle of the side yard. I have just chicken wire in back of it, and wood posts to hold it up. On the post, I have a grapevine wreath. In the herb garden, I have ginger root, two kinds of basil, sage, lavender, garlic, chives, a mint that Jim got me -- and a pumpkin plant to grow on the fence for color and fun. Also growing on the fence is a hops vine. What a conversation piece this is! At the side of this garden, I have an old white chair and a plant sitting on this. It looks really old fashioned. This chair is one that was wood with an old leather bottomed seat.
Then, back behind the fence I have an old windmill. I have pole beans planted around this and, eventually, the pole beans will grow all over this windmill and hide it by fall. Also, I have the sugar pod peas planted on one side of it, but they will come on and be done long before the beans really get going. Then, in an old pot by the windmill is leaf lettuce. A pot full is all I need, and it will grow up and I will use it and let it keep growing all summer. Then I have a pot of herbs by there, too.
Mary bought me four packages of seeds for Mothers Day. I have them growing in there ... can't remember what they are now, but will know once they get here. They are all coming up good. I know one is basil.
Basil is my favorite herb of all. I love all the kinds. Probably my favorite is holy basil. I used to use the stems for Bible markers. This herb is very fragrant. In the summer I use sweet basil a lot as a garnish for a plateful of sliced tomatoes. I use it in every salad in the summertime. I even put this in with arrangements of flowers for the table. Another favorite is the curly purple basil. Also, the mammoth basil that is about the size of a lettuce leaf. Basil is just for one year, here in Iowa, as the harsh winter kills it each fall. So I have to plant it each year, and I can't get all the kinds I like, always.
Then, back by my dining room, I have a kitchen garden. This garden is small with tomato plants and peppers, sweet and hot. Also, I have many herbs back here, and horseradish. Plus I have my Seven Sisters Rose bush. This is my pride and joy; I love these little roses and I make many things with these. Also, back here is the old kind of catnip and comfrey.
Then, way back in my yard is the canning garden. This is a big garden where I have my rhubarb and red raspberry bushes. It's here we will plant more tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers, I think ... I don't know yet. It has been too wet to plow that big garden up. And, man, this weather has been very hard on our gardens ... it's very wet.
