4.18.2013

Drew's Sunflowers

I'm obsessed with the $1 Target bins. Like, I have a problem. Anyone else? I know it's not just me.

Anyway, I picked up this little sunflower kit for Drew before Easter. I was really excited to let him do the planting in the tiny pot, then transfer outdoors once it grew to the recommended height. He carefully inserted the seeds into the pot and enjoyed watering it each day.


It's crazy how fast those seeds grew! Check out that speed! Wish I could afford some awesome time-lapse camera that I could have set up for the week...


Anyhoo, it grew to 3 inches meaning it was time to get evicted to the outdoors. We dug a hole, placed the extra, unused seeds in and then carefully transferred the already-growing sunflowers and their roots.


Drew was so proud of his plant and kept talking about it while we played outside that evening. I knew he would love to watch them grow throughout the spring and hopefully we'd get some real sunflowers! (Don't forget, I'm from Kansas so sunflowers have a special place in my heart!)

But less than 12 hours later tragedy struck.

...Or more like my green thumb failed me and I completely forgot to consider how much animals liked seeds.

This is what I found the next morning....


I noticed it as we walked to the car before school and quickly turned Drew's attention fearing he would want to, once again, see how his plant was doing. In the car I explained to him what happened and like a typical toddler, he didn't really care.{thankyoubabyjesus}

I, on the other hand, was pissed. How did I not remember that sunflower seeds were delicious and couldn't be resisted by our squirrels? I was honestly hoping to have a huge post this summer full of large, beautiful sunflower pictures. But here we are.... still barely spring and the project is ruined. Stupid squirrels.

You live and you learn, right?

40 comments:

  1. I love the Target dollar bins as well. They have great books, fun toys and cute organizing things in there.

    Sorry about your plant, that is so sad.

    Glad he got over it so quickly!

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  2. Ah, damn. Those things sure took off well in the house though! We have a bunch of wild sunflowers around our house, but I love seeing the big huge ones out in a field. I love the Target dollar bins too - it's a good thing I don't go in that store very often.

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  3. Ahhhh!!! Tragic!!! It's not too late to plant again-- this time you could put some kind of netting around the baby plants until they're bigger and squirrel-proof? Stupid jerk squirrels...ugh!

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  4. Boo! Stupid squirrels is right. What a bummer!

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  5. Oh no!!! Damn squirrels. What great pictures and what a wonderful little garden project to do with your little man. Maybe it will work out better next time. :)

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  6. You should just buy some sunflowers from a flower shop and give them to him. Then tell him they got big so you picked them. ;) Or try planting again, it's still early! You could also just do a packet of wild flowers for a few cents. We did that last year and it turned out pretty. They're basically "weeds" too so they are fool proof. He's so cute in your photos with his little gardening tools!

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  7. I was anticipating a happy ending to this post....darn squirrels! Glad he moved on pretty quickly though. :)

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  8. Awww... I love the dollar bin too! You can see how often we've visited by our collection of wooden cars. Now we need flowers! So sorry about your plant. Bummer.

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  9. Stupid squirrels! I would be pissed too

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  10. I love this! My niece had to grow a sunflower for school from a seed and it's 11 inches tall now in only a month. :)

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  11. What a bummer! It was going to be a big sunflower! That's ok though - the planting was probably still fun!

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  12. Oh, boo! Poor little sunflowers. =( Thank goodness for the age of distraction for toddlers.

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  13. I got some of those from Target too but didn't plant them yet.

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  14. Crazy! I'm doing the same thing with my Drew right now. Unfortunately, I didn't find it in the dollar bin, but it's been so much fun seeing him take responsibility for it. Can't wait to see our sunflower..hopefully it doesn't get eaten :(

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  15. Hi Sarah! I came across your blog today from Erika's page, and I just wanted to introduce myself in an effort to not feel quite so stalkerish... I've enjoyed reading your past few posts and getting to know a little bit about you and your sweet family; thanks for letting us follow along with your life!

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  16. you are certainly NOT the only one... i also love target's $1 bins!

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  17. Those $1 target bins are addicting:)

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  18. OMG! Such a cute project, too bad those dang animals got to them! Ugh! My daughter is growing some inside, since we are currently getting 8 inches of SNOW!

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  19. i love $1 bins at target too! can't resist. aw, too bad about the seeds. darn those squirrels :(

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  20. No, it's not just you! how can you NOT love the bins. I got some really great creative things for the Christmas stockings last year!

    Darn, the little flower really seemed to be growing quickly too!

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  21. Nooooooooooo! I would have done the same thing. Maybe start over?

    Also, your post never showed up in my feed. I went searching for it. Weird.

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  22. Dumb animals who eat our gardens!!! Better luck next time! :)

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  23. I have a serious problem with the Target $1 bins. If I don't practice some sort of self control I could easily spend $50 on those bins alone.
    P.S. Are our running kicks the same?! It looks like they might be. Great minds. :)

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  24. Whoever came up with the $1 aisle in Target was a genius, ha ha! The hubs and I always spend SO much time in that section!
    I can't wait until Mia gets older and we can do fun little projects like this (even if it gets eaten... ha ha!)

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  25. Oh no, I'd be so mad. Luckily he's still young and it didn't bother him though!

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  26. Oh no!!!! I'm so sorry!!! That (or worse) would definitely have happened to me too, though. I can't keep plants alive for anything!

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  27. I just discovered the $1 section at Target a few months ago and am officially obsessed now! I swear I feel like I live at Target and every time I swing through there and always end up with stuff! Also, I kill all plants no matter how hard I try :( I try to do flowers or plants outside our house and it never fails- after a few months they die!

    Your little guy is adorable! I'm following along now so look forward to getting to know you better thru your blog :)

    Kathryn

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  28. Ugh ... squirrels! [And for the record, you are NOT alone ... the Dollar Bins are the first section I shop every time I get to Target ... no matter how often I am there!!]

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  29. I am a huge fan of the Target $1 bins but not a huge fan of squirrels!!

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  30. i am a huge fan of the target $1 bins too!! and ugh those darn squirrels!!!!!

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  31. Holy crap that thing grew fast! That is one sunflower kit totally worth a dollar! Target is not a place to mess with. The dollar spot sucks me in every time.

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  32. Yes!! My husband always steps to the side and waits for me to peruse those bins!! I love this little Sunflower project and that you took pictures throughout the days! All of these pictures are so cute! Love them. So sorry that squirrels ate your seeds!

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  33. Thanks for stopping by my blog Sarah! I can't wait to check out your blog and follow you! Have a great weekend!

    Lisa

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  34. Aww, sorry for the outcome. Those seeds do grow crazy fast though, just perfect for little bodies who don't like to wait for much of anything!

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  35. I know what you mean...I have had many of plants/veggies die at the hand of animals or insects!

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  36. I LOVE the $1 bins at Target! I usually let August pick something out for himself :) Sorry the sunflower didn't make it long :(

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  37. You are a good Momma for trying! It was sweet! Stupid squirrels! Omg. I am addicted to the Target dollar bins as well. They always have some crazy cute stuff in there!

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  38. I love the target $1 bins! I always find fun stuff for my classroom there, especially little "presents" for the kids! I might have to get some of those flowers! :)

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