Long Suffering of the Sunflower Fort

So in the San Antonio garden blogging community we are building some sunflower forts. I read about the idea in a fantastic book that I highly recommend, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (http://richardlouv.com/).

The idea is to plant an outline of tall sunflowers and maybe some clover in the middle, leaving a space for a "door" and ta da! living fort for your kids to play in. Clearly, I wanted this not only for my daughter but also for myself.

So I bought some Seeds of Change- Russian Mammoth Sunflowers. (http://www.seedsofchange.com/)

Aside: Did you know Whole Foods is carrying Seeds of Change now? Pretty cool- but I get mine from Shades of Green (http://www.shadesofgreensa.com/).

I planted them and smiled serenely at the fun we would soon be having in our coolest fort ever.

The next day I witnessed the birds eating and partying in the sunflower field. I called it a coincidence and kept watering. Very few sunflowers came up.

I then remembered the suggestion to cover the seeds with cheese cloth or row cover. I think I had even scoffed at the suggestion at the time. The birds were probably laughing at me.

So I planted some more and covered them dutifully with some borrowed row cover. This fort would be built! Remember the Alamo I shouted at the birds!

So far still not a lot of progress.

And we lost at the Alamo...

Can we come play in someone elses fort?