What is it that reminds you of summer? Is it the longer days and the warmer climes? The taste of your favorite ice cream or summer cocktail? Or is it a particular flower that only blooms in your back yard in the summer months?

If you’re a big fan of summer gardens bursting with vibrant, colorful flowers, prepare to fall in love with the strawberry blonde sunflower. Of course, common sunflowers are pretty beautiful in themselves, and they’re a whole lot of fun to grow. You can get your kids involved in planting them, and why not hold a “whose grows the tallest” competition while you’re at it?

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But if you fancy something a little fancier in your garden this year, it’s worth looking at sunflower variations, including the gorgeous strawberry blonde sunflower. This flower is pretty rare – it’s actually been dubbed the first rose-pink sunflower to ever exist – so it’ll make you the envy of your neighbors if you manage to get your hands on it!

There are shades of yellow, pink, and burgundy on the petals, with the colors reminding us of a sunset. They grow tall, like all sunflowers, and can reach heights of 5 to 6, or 150 to 180 cm, feet in their prime.

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The best news is, you can buy seeds for these flowers online, including on Amazon and Etsy, so they’re not so rare that they’re completely unavailable. You will just need to grow them like standard sunflowers, planting them in outdoor areas with lots of sun, in moist, well-drained soils.

Like common sunflowers, strawberry blonde sunflowers are very low maintenance. You won’t need to prune them or cut them back, so they make good borders for most gardens. With so many colors on the go, they complement hundreds of other flowers, including pansies, roses, and all-green shrubs.

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Even better, strawberry blonde sunflowers attract birds and bees and are deer resistant, so they’ll help you to bring the right sort of wildlife into your garden.

Worried you’ve left it too late to plant these beauties? There’s still time – they’re fast-growing and can bloom within 55 to 100 days after you’ve planted their seeds. You can expect to enjoy blooms at around 5 to 6 inches across, with multicolored petals. They’re pollen-free, too, so if allergies are a big issue for you in summer, strawberry blonde sunflowers won’t set you off sneezing.

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And why stop at this sunflower alone? There are around 70 varieties of sunflowers, from the traditional tall, yellow flower to giant skyscraper sunflowers (they can grow up to 14 feet!), fluffy teddy bear sunflowers, and sunflowers in shades of cream, white, orange, pink and deep red.

Just make sure you give your sunflowers of choice the love and care they require. Taller sunflowers will need a bit of support, as they can quite easily be felled by the wind. Plant them alongside fences and hedges, and use poles to keep them straight to help them reach their peak heights.

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Only add more water when the top layer of soil has dried out. Sunflowers generally fair better being underwatered than the other way around. So if in doubt, give them just a small sprinkle with the watering can!

Strawberry blonde sunflowers are definitely a fast favorite of ours this summer. If you feel the same, jump to it and get planting your seeds as soon a possible – then sit back and wait for the magical flowers to bloom.

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Source: Mystical Raven, Gardenia