Stringing sunflowers for the Birds

I wanted to share a little project with you that can be done when you have extra sunflower heads that you don’t plan on saving for the following year. I like to save seeds but I also find that I end up with an over abundance sometimes and it’s more than I need. Most of the time when the seed heads are left on the plants the birds do find them, but I like to tidy up the garden towards the end of summer so I don’t have so much clean up to do in the fall so this extra step helps, plus I find it a fun project.

What I started doing is harvesting only what I need, and the remaining heads I make a string wire and hang it on the fence line for the wildlife to enjoy. This way I can remove the old plants and get a head start on the yard clean up and it’s also fun to watch them eat. 

For many of my other plants, like the black eyed Susan’s and other perennials I leave the spent flower heads attached and allow to overwinter this way until early spring when I will cut them back, This also provides shelter to the animals during the cold months. 

For the stringing of the sunflower heads, it’s best to string them when they are still moist and not dried so you can run string or wire through them more easily. For my project I used wire. You can also make these ahead of time and hang them indoors to dry, then take them out during the coldest part of the inter months to feeds the wildlife,