Sunflowers: Fake double pink and what the seed actually produced

Back in the spring I saw an ad on Facebook for pink sunflowers. The variety was said to be ‘Pink Pooh’ and, at first sight, the fully double pink flowers looked quite convincing. If it was a Photoshop job then it was well done. And that, of course, was exactly right – it was a well done Photoshop job. You can see it above.

My friend Alison Levey over at The Blackberry Garden blog checked the same Facebook ad and we decided to do a little test. Alison ordered some seed, sowed it, potted up the seedlings and then passed three of them on to me.

A few days ago Alison reported what she discovered and just over a week ago the first buds on my three plants opened. As you can see, above, each plant produced a perfectly nice, yellow flowered, single sunflower: an unbranched stem with just one flower at the top – it’s probably one of those varieties grown increasingly on a farm scale for bird seed.

But not a double pink. Are we surprised? Not really.

And it’s not just pink sunflowers. There are “rainbow” tomatoes (below) with blue, purple, puce and buttercup yellow fruits all on the same truss not to mention multicoloured tulips (also below) seen nowhere on the planet outside websites trying to sell us the doctored images.

So, in the words of every shopping and consumer rights expert across the world: “If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.” In these cases, we can scratch out the “probably”. Don’t waste your money.

An image of fake 'Rainbow' tulips offered for sale.

After last time’s treatise on the way roses are named - “yawn,” said one reader in an email – I promised “something lighter”.

OK, here goes: gardening jokes. It's back to vaudeville where the comic's iconic intro - "I say, I say, I say..." let's you know there's a terrible joke on the way.

To be honest they’re all pretty corny - like jazz jokes, which are mainly about saxophone players who can’t play in tune - but here are some of the least bad. Be sure you keep going till the end.

I say, I say, I say...: Why do potatoes make good detectives?
I don't know, Why do potatoes make good detectives?
Because they keep their eyes peeled.

What's green and walks through walls?
Casper the friendly cucumber.

What do you call a stolen yam?

A hot potato.

What do you get if you cross a dog with a daisy?
A collie-flower.

What vegetable can tie your stomach in knots?
String beans.

Why did the potatoes get a divorce?
Because they couldn’t see eye to eye.

What did the carrot say to the wheat?

Lettuce rest, I'm feeling beet.

What kind of socks does a gardener wear?

Garden hose.

What was green and a great trick shooter?

Annie Okra

What gets bigger the more you take away?
A hole.

What is a Honeymoon Salad?

Lettuce alone, with no dressing.

What do you call a grumpy and short tempered gardener?

A SnapDragon.

Where did the vegetables go to have a few drinks? 

The Salad Bar.

What do you call a cow who works for a gardener?

A lawn moo-er.

What is green and goes to a summer camp? 

A Brussels' scout.

What do you get when you cross a canary and a lawn mower? 

Shredded tweet.

Why did the tomato turn red? 

Because it saw the salad dressing.

What do you get if you cross a four leaf clover with poison ivy? 

A rash of good luck.

What is small, red and whispers?
A hoarse radish.

How do you stop moles digging in your garden?
Hide their shovels.

Why did the bull rush?

Because he saw the cow slip


How do you hide an elephant in a cherry tree?

Paint his toe nails red

What's red and square?
A banana in disguise



Why did the Golden Delicious go to jail?
He was a rotten apple.

And these two (mainly for UK readers) posted as comments on another blog – from the excellent garden writer Martyn Cox:

What do you get if you cross Ilkley's most famous gardening son with an object of bad taste?

Alan Kitschmarsh

Did you hear the contemporary artist who shocked the art world with his sculpture of Brassica rapa Rapifera Group?


He was awarded the Turnip Prize.

And my four faves:

Why do melons have fancy weddings?
Because they cantaloupe

What's red and invisible?
No tomatoes

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?

Pilgrims.

What do you get if you divide the circumference 
of a pumpkin by its diameter?
Pumpkin pi.

All unashamedly stolen from these other websites and blogs. Thank you.
Jokes, Puns, Riddles, One-Liners and Humor for Gardeners
David Hobson's Garden Mumour
The Veg Plotting blog

The garden jokes on the Nest in Style blog blog are just so corny I can’t bring myself to quote any!

Please add any more good gardening jokes as comments. Thank you!