Since I was a little girl I have always wanted to grow Sunflowers. Since we now own our home and we have a garden Dallin and I decided to try them this summer. We grew the tallest variety bc "go big or go home" right? They were very pretty but after a particularly bad wind storm they started to lean over the walkway and then they got the dreaded red spider mites that I was never able to get rid of. I think next summer we will try black eyed susans...they grow wild here on the side of the roads and I am thinking they are pretty drought tolerant.