Sunflowers as Privacy Wall

This is the year of the sunflower.

As in, since we had a beautiful border collie living in our backyard for three months, our garden has been totally rearranged and we have seeds of all sorts in brand new spaces, including but not limited to a crop of sunflowers you would not believe. Nor would you normally plant them where they are - eclipsing strawberries, tea roses, and assorted other plants residing in the kitchen garden.

But such is the exciting life in the garden when a four-legged furry canine youth conquers the great backyard.

At the beginning of spring, I mercilessly ripped sunflower seedlings from the strawberry patch/triangle herb garden. After days of this, I started wondering,

"What if I let them grow and they formed a privacy wall?"

Our backyard and sliding glass door in the family room peers directly into the backyard of the neighbor. I've had several great ideas for shielding and making a wall, all for the purpose of privacy, art, and garden decor. But nothing has come of those fabulous thoughts.

Sunflower wall blocking patio window and providing shade

Until the dog helped things along.

Now, in spite of losing several roof-height plants due to windstorms, we have a lovely, flower-ful bee-nectar-supplying private, natural, shade-providing wall. Finches and sparrows love it. Multiple varieties of bees work tirelessly from sun-up to sun-down, buzzing from flower to flower.

Sunflower wall from the inside, looking out

Shade wasn't a part of the original equation, but wow, what a perfect way to keep the sun at bay on hot summer afternoons!

Thanks, Magi, for the sowing of the seeds.

New Adoption: Help Needed!

Meet Magi. (As in the Magi bearing Christmas gifts for the Baby Jesus). Except we pronounce it Maggie. Maggie Moo. Our Christmas puppy.

(Magi and her future doghouse, day 2)

Twenty pounds of blurry motion, teeth, tail, drool, and amazingly, not too much hair.

(Nice clean puppy - did not last long)

The night after our adoption, I woke up thinking, "I can't believe I brought home a dog. A stray dog. A puppy. A puppy Border collie, well known for excessive energy and tendency to destructive habits if not properly entertained AND trained."

But she is so cute! And just what we were looking for - female, puppy but not too puppy, Border collie, adorable. FREE. And in relatively good health - as ascertained by our vet.

(Most pictures involve motion - jumping, squirming, wiggling)

She is a rescue dog. We rescued her from some kind of life as a stray. She has been abused, is very shy around strangers, children, other dogs, cars, being out of her safety zone (which happens to be our newly remodeled and destroyed backyard).

(Chewing, like normal. Reclining on my heather. Her new favorite bed.)

But she is so adorable and loving. Magi Moo (my new nickname for this bundle of energy). Bonded to us. Lacking in certain hearing and obeying skills. A definite chewer. The perfect mandatory reason for daily walksies.

A puppy. Wow.

Ideas for training, correcting, socializing, anything puppy (a herding puppy), would be greatly appreciated.

(Most pictures of her look like this. Energy in motion.)

May I introduce you to Magi?