Enter our Sunflower photo competition

If you recently picked up a packet of seeds during our free sunflower seed giveaway, then here's all you need to know about growing your sunflowers and entering our photographic competition!  

Sunflowers are great for all sorts of insects and we depend on them to pollinate our fruit, vegetables and flowers. Honey bees are under threat and declining, so planting sunflowers gives bees a good source of pollen to gather for making honey. This variety is particularly good for wildlife, as the seeds have softer husks to enable birds to crack them, and they have a higher fat content, which helps keep small animals warm in winter. Sunflowers are also pretty good at putting a smile on everyone’s face!

How to grow your seeds

Each packet contains around 10 Helianthus Annus Sunflower seeds, which need to be sown by the end of May. (Please keep them away from children under 3 and supervise as necessary). Sow them 2 in a small plant pot, about 1.5cm deep and grow on a sunny windowsill, keeping soil moist. Seedlings should appear after 14-21 days. Remove weaker seedling to leave 1 plant per pot. When the roots start to poke out of the bottom, plant into a bigger pot with more space. Plant outside in full sun in May, using a tall cane for support. Water well. You can also sow seeds directly into the ground in May. Given the right conditions, they should reach four to five feet high by the end of the summer!

Enter our photographic competition!

Take a photo of your Sunflower at any stage of its growth, perhaps on a sunny day, or being visited by a pollinator? Email it in to us at info@dikeandson.co.uk with the subject heading SUNFLOWER and your contact details (Your name, your age if under 18, your phone number and when and where the sunflower is or was grown, along with a few words about the picture you are sending in). 

If you are under 18 you will need to ask your parent or guardian or school's permission to enter this competition, and provide an adult's name and telephone number for us to contact them on. 

The competition will close at 8pm on Friday 29th September after which there will be a judging period during which ALL entries will be considered. There will be some spot prizes for the best or most unusual entries and the overall winner will receive a Dike & Son Food & Drink Hamper and an automatic place in our 2024 Dike & Son Calendar!

Terms & Conditions

The Dike & Son Sunflower photographic competition is open to all ages and abilities, but the photo entered must must be taken of a sunflower (or part of a sunflower) at any stage of its growth, grown from the Dike & Son Free Seed Packet and taken between mid-April and the end of September 2023. 

Entries are invited by email only please. Send your photo in to us at info@dikeandson.co.uk with the subject heading SUNFLOWER and your contact details (name, phone number and when and where the sunflower is/was grown, along with a few words about the picture you are sending in). 

For entrants under 18, please get permission from your parent, guardian or teacher and state your age. (If it is a school entry, please state which school you attend). We will also need the contact name and phone number of the adult giving permission so that we can get in touch with them to confirm this.

We would prefer one photographic entry per person, but you can submit up to a maximum of three images if you wish. Please try to make sure they are high resolution images but no more than 5MB each. You may submit colour or black and white photographs, and any shape. 

The competition closes at 8pm on Friday 29th September, followed by judging during October. The winning entry will be notified and will receive a Dike & Son Food & Drink Hamper and automatic inclusion in our 2024 Calendar. Unfortunately we can't notify every entrant of their success or otherwise in the competition, but please accept our thanks and delight at every entry that we receive!

Entries will be kept in accordance with our Data Protection Policy (see our Privacy Policy here) and no information will be given to third parties or used for any publicity without the entrant's permission. This also applies to the winning entrant, who may choose to remain anonymous if they wish. 

The judges' decision is final. The management reserve the right to reject entries that do not fulfill the entry requirements and/or request more information by email or phone from entrants if needed, to help with the judging process.