Our sunflower project: from seed to bird food

Last year, I started planting sunflowers in our garden. It was really a small project, without a big plan. Just something to try and see what would happen.

We first sowed the seeds indoors in small pots on the windowsill, where they could get enough light. At first, you don’t see much happening, but after a while the first green leaves start to appear above the soil. It always stays special to see how something so small slowly begins to grow.

When the young plants were strong enough, we moved them outside into the garden. From that moment on, they really started to grow on their own. With sun, water, and time, they grew taller and taller.

In summer, they were fully in bloom. Large sunflowers standing in a row in the garden. It created a completely different atmosphere. A lot of life came to the garden, especially bees and other insects. It is beautiful to see how one plant can attract so much life.

When summer ended, the flowers slowly started to fade. What remained were the large sunflower heads, filled with seeds. That is actually the moment when you realise the cycle is almost complete. We kept a large part of those seeds. Not to use right away, but to store them for later. Now, a year later, we are using those same seeds as bird food for the birds that visit our garden every day. They come regularly, and it really brings life into the garden.

What I find beautiful about it is that it doesn’t end in one moment. What started as a small seed grew into a flower, and is now becoming something valuable again for the animals in the garden. It also shows how things can continue, even when you think something is “finished”. It simply takes on a different form.

And maybe that is what I love most about this project. That something small, something simple, can travel such a long journey and continue to mean something in different ways.