Everyone loves sunflowers and they are a big beautiful flower that will hook even children into gardening.

Because sunflowers grow so big, so quickly, they need rich soil and lots of sunshine. Plant them out of the wind, too.

Choose a place at the back of the garden in full sun. First spread some manure or fertiliser over the soil and dig in. Plant the seeds about 30cm apart.

The baby plants will come up in about 10 days. They'll bloom about 14 weeks after planting, and you'll have beautiful sunflowers for about a month. The first flowers are the biggest and the plants will need regular watering or they wilt.

Sunflowers grow wild in America. They come in yellows, browns and oranges. Watch their "faces" follow the sun as it moves across the sky.

Source:A Kid's First Book of Gardening (Murdoch Books)