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!