Deadheading

No, it has nothing to do with the Grateful Dead.  But everything to do with my least favorite job in the garden.  I will go out of my way to find plants that do not require this action during the growing season.  That's why I rarely plant any petunias.  Going around and pinching off the dead blooms and your hands smell the rest of the evening.  Yuck.  Don't get me wrong, I like petunias.  My Grandma always had petunias out.  The Wave Petunias are a little better, but by the end of July you still need to trim them back--they start to look leggy.

A couple of years ago I started buying Calibrochia instead.  Much better results.

This year, I even scored some of the elusive brand new Lemon Slice Calibrochia! (Okay, yes, there are white petunias in there.  Only because I couldn't find any White Calibrocia.  I'm not happy!)

Deadheading can also be useful if you want to keep a flower from expanding beyond it's flower bed or spreading like wildfire.  Case in point.  My big perennial garden (aka wildflower garden) used to have a dozen different varieties of plants in it.

Now, it looks like a field of Purple Coneflowers!  So much for deadheading.


The only flowers I don't mind all the trimming and fussing, are my roses.  There is just something peaceful about working in these beautiful flowers.

It must be the smell.  It must hypnotize you into not feeling the thorns raking across your arms and seeing the blackspot and yellow leaves spreading up the bush.

I thoroughly detest deadheading!

Surprises

I don't know anybody that doesn't like surprises.  Especially gardeners. If you don't know what a gardening surprise, you are missing out.  A gardening surprise is a plant that just magically appears in a flower bed (or yard) one day.  The first of these magical plants was, aptly named, the Surprise Lily.  It showed up in two different beds the same year.

They have some big long latin name that escapes me now, but are also known as Resurrection Lillies.   They still appear from time to time.  Then I had some little white flowers that showed up real early in the Spring in my pink garden, but those eventually disappeared.

At the back of the house, I have a nice sized perennial garden, that started out with several different plants, but is now mainly Purple Coneflowers.  At one time, I had tried to grow Rose Campion in there, to no avail. Imagine my surprise, when a few years later, it appeared 10 feet away around the shed, nestled between my Lavender and my Blue Columbine.

Speaking of Columbine, it appeared 10 feet away last year in the bed next to the house!  It doesn't look so great right now, the last few 90 degree days have been rough on it.  But it did bloom.
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This year is no exception.  For the last 3 or 4 years, I have put pots of Lantana on my front porch.  But in prior years, I have had pots with Petunias and Snapdragons (not at the same time!).  Imagine my surprise this summer, right next to the front porch!  Petunias AND Snapdragons!

My mixed feeling surprise this year is my favorite, but I don't know what it is.  My mailbox flower bed stared out with Blue Salvia, Red Bee Balm, White Boltonia and a White Butterfly bush.  The Butterfly Bush didn't survive the winter, but this showed up in it's place.

It looks like it might be in the Campion family.  But it could be a weed out of control.  I don't know, but I kind of like it!

A Gardener's Vacation

A couple of weeks ago, the hubby and I traveled two hours from our Northern Indiana home to Grand Rapids, Michigan.  We were taking a well deserved long weekend vacation.  Our itineraries differed slightly (Grand Rapids was just voted Beer City USA, again.) but I did get to visit the #1 place on my list--the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. An amazing place!  It covers 132 acres with both indoor and outdoor gardens.  There are paved walking paths or you can take a tour on the tram system.  We walked the grounds and it took an hour to hour and a half, so be prepared to spend at least half a day there.

I think we spent the most time in the indoor gardens--the carnivorous garden, the arid garden and the truly amazing tropical garden.

 These plants are called living stones because they truly look like little pebbles.

Bamboo growing indoors!

 Beautiful Orchids!

Maybe someday the plant on my desk at work will look this this croton!






There are gardens especially designed for children.  Their own area has a farmer's garden, a butterfly garden, a labyrinth for them to follow.  And the latest trend in gardening--the living picture.

There are several waterfalls.  This is one of the side waterfalls.  The main waterfall had a group of art students drawing that day and we didn't want to disturb them.

And the sculptures.  They range from artsy to whimsical.  A few of my favorites were:

Star Wars, anyone?

I need one of these!

Mirror image

But the most amazing sculpture of all was of the American Horse!  Pictures do not do it justice.  It is absolutely HUGE!

If you are ever in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area.  You have to make time to visit the Frederik Meijer Gardens.  The perfect way to spend part of a day.  We need to go back.  We didn't take nearly enough pictures!

Happy Fourth of July!

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Fourth of July.  I'm out working in my gardens today.  Quite a bit of tidying up after 10 days of rain.  5.75 inches worth.  But I did want to share my patriotic container.  I always try to do something red, white and blue.  (Which is easier nowdays than it used to be!)

Finished cleaning up the roses, now back to the weeds everywhere else!