In my search for ways to punctuate all of my ornamental garden’s lusty green shrubs and perennials bearing interesting leaves, but minor flowers, I have turned to the sunflower.

Could it be that I’m simply eager for sun, period? I’m rapidly filling any spots between ornamental grasses and spireas, hellebores and hostas, with sunflowers. Many birds love sunflowers, too. There are 486 bird species that have been identified in Oregon, and more than 250 of those species breed and rear their young in the state, according to Oregon State University Extension Service. Sunflowers are just one of the seed-producing flowers that many birds depend on.

I’ve placed “Kong,” the big variety with the potential to reach 12 feet in height, in back of a border with a salvia sporting fire-engine red blooms. “Ring of Fire,” with bicolored, dark red and golden-yellow petals, should complement a nearby copper-colored sedge and pale yellow snapdragons. Or, if it is a huge, garish clash of a combo, at least it will be colorful. I owe these sunflowers to my husband’s initiative some weeks ago to actually plant all of the seeds I bought this winter, not just to carve out storage space in the pretty, new metal seed-saving box I also procured, which still contains seeds bought the year we married almost 20 years ago.

This brightening trick with sunflowers is best achieved in full sun, or at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. Make sure the location is well drained and is able to take feeding, since sunflowers deplete the soil and need frequent fertilizing. Composted manure works, as well as a slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote or an organic fertilizer with trace minerals. If you have started sunflowers in small pots, get them in the ground soon. They have large taproots, which can become stunted if kept to small containers. Ideally, sunflowers should be direct seeded, although our clay soil stays wet so long, it’s hard to wait.

Like the color-hungry gardener, slugs love sunflowers. While cleaning out some old files, I came across some recipes for organic slug control, provided by Anne Jaeger several years back at a Master Gardener Seminar. She appears on PBS’ “Smart Gardening,” as well as hosts her own Web site, www.gardengal.tv. It’s a good time to review her suggestions for organic slug control, too, as I got another reminder from a reader how little traditional slug bait it takes to kill a pet. Baits containing metaldehyde, an active ingredient in slug and snail baits such as Cory’s Slug and Snail Death, Deadline and Slug-Tox, destroy the slug’s mucus-producing system, reducing their mobility and digestion. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies metaldehyde as a slightly toxic compound, although a small amount has been known to kill wildlife and pets.

Jaeger suggests adding crushed egg shells around vulnerable plants – the slugs don’t like to cross the jagged edges. A half a cantaloupe or grapefruit rind placed out at night might lure slugs in, though it’s up to you to dispose of it the next day. Sandpaper collars circling the stems of plants can work, as does a combination of sand and wood ash encircling the plant’s stem, according to Jaeger.

She also shares a recipe for making a pop can sugar can, something that sounds kind of fun on a summer day. Mix a teaspoon of jam, a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of lemon juice with several teaspoons of water. Pour the mixture in a pop can, punch holes in the sides and pour in the sticky goo. Place the cans near slug favorites, such as your sunflowers. Once the plants have some growth, slugs can do less damage.

Sunflowers appreciate feeding. Dig a small moat around the plant, or plants, and pour a gallon or so of properly diluted fertilizer into the soil around the stems.

To preserve cut sunflowers, harvest them in the morning when they are the most fresh. Cut with a clean knife or clippers and place in a vase with fresh water.

Cathy Peterson belongs to the Clatsop County Master Gardener Association. “In the Garden” runs weekly in Coast Weekend. Please send comments and gardening news to The Daily Astorian, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 or online to peterson@pacifier.com