Garden Chores: Deadheading
Now that the first flush of spring blooms are fading it’s time to start deadheading. I don’t deadhead everything in the garden, some things I let go to seed for the birds. There are a few plants that I deadhead to prolong blooming or because their spent blossoms are distracting in the garden. Peonies are one of those things that need deadheaded, their spent blossoms leave a mess in the garden. When you cut back the spent blossoms they look like nice tidy shrubs. One exception to this is my single peony that puts off lovely seed pods that look like tiny jester’s caps.
I like to deadhead plants like salvia, lilies and catmint because they’ll produce another flush of blooms. I wait until most of the blooms are gone and then cut or snap off individual flowers off for certain plants (salvia and day lilies) and for others you can simply shear the plant back by about one third (catmint and ‘stella de oro’ lilies).
Do you deadhead flowers in your garden? All of them or just specific ones?
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My Favorite Peony
I must admit that I love peonies. I have a two that were growing here when me moved in. They’re planted in a terrible spot, practically in the gravel driveway. They don’t seem to mind much, they bloom beautifully every year. I plan on moving them this fall, a little farther back into some better soil. I’m hoping they’ll spread and fill out, they haven’t gotten much bigger in the 9 years we’ve lived here despite my mulching & fertilizing.
Don’t let the beauty of peonies fool you. They’re tough as nails once they’re established, as proven by the ones I have growing in the driveway. They can take drought and they’re true perennials blooming for years. My mom has some peonies that she got from my grandma that were growing at the home she grew up in which are more than 50 years old. I have a start from one of these as well, I can’t wait for it to bloom.
Last year I added 6 new peonies to the gardens here at Chiot’s Run and I’ll be adding a few more this year (my mom’s giving me a few from her gardens that need moved). Most of the ones I planted last year won’t bloom this year, but one has one small bloom. It can take a few years for peonies to get established. I have one that I waited 6 years for it to bloom. If only I had added these new peonies 8 years ago when we moved in the gardens would filled with them now.
Once you start collecting them it’s hard to keep track of the ones you have, I must find a good plant labeling system so I can mark them permanently. I know a few of the varieties I have growing; ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, ‘Dr Alexander Flemming’, ‘Bowl of Beauty’, ‘Madame Emile Debatene’ as well as ‘Felix Crousse’ and a few unknown varieties. All of my peonies are the pink family with my favorites being this light pink of the ‘Sarah Bernhardt’.
Do you have a favorite peony?
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The Last Tulips
The last tulips to bloom in my garden are my ‘Mickey Mouse’ tulips. Normally I don’t like red and yellow flowers, but I do love these. They’re a great send off to the blooming spring bulbs. Not long after they fade the peonies will start their show. So here’s to the tulips and the lovely spring show they provide us each spring. Enjoy these photos of the last of the spring tulips here at Chiot’s Run.
What’s the last spring bulb to bloom in your garden?
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Around the Neighborhood
This time of year it seems like everything is bursting in bloom. It’s been quite warm here, warmer than usual. We’ve been having temperatures in the 80’s so all the blooming trees bloomed at the same time. We often take the Chiots on a walk in the evenings right at dusk and the trees in the neighborhood are particularly lovely. One evening I took my camera on one of our walks to get a few shots.
The flowering pear trees are particularly lovely, although I’d much prefer one that produced fruit!
The magnolias are quite lovely this. Often here in Ohio the buds get frozen off by a late spring freeze. This year we were lucky and now we’re enjoying the lovely magnolias.
The star magnolias are lovely little trees as well!
The forsythias are really lovely this year as well, sunny shrubs that are most lovely when left to their natural weeping habitat (in my mind).
Here are Chiot’s run some of our fruit trees are blooming as well. The apples trees (what’s left of them after the deer nibbled them all winter) are blooming beautifully.
The nectarine tree went through the winter unscathed by the deer and it looks like we might have a nice crop.
The dogwood are blooming as well, they’re native here and grow all over. These are probably my favorite spring blooming trees. All these flowering trees are great for the bees, they’ll be taking advantage and making us lots of honey with all the pollen and nectar!
What’s your favorite spring blooming tree?
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Saved from the Deer
I normally do not cut flowers, I prefer enjoying them in the garden, but I decided to rescue these from the voracious deer. They’re quite lovely on the dining room table and provided some inspiration for some lovely photos.
I don’t get to see many tulips unless they’re in areas where the deer don’t feel comfortable going; right next to the garage, in between the house and the garage and in certain part of the front flowerbed. I have a few patches of tulips growing in the back of our lot and on the front hillside and at least half of each patch was already munched down.
The creamy white blooms with purple petal tips are ‘Shirly’ tulips. The purple one in the background is a ‘Negrita’ Tulip. I got them in a combo pack 4-5 years ago. The big orange tulip was here when we bought the house so I’m not sure of it’s name. It’s a vigorous tulip and gives a beautiful show of giant blooms each year.
Someday I hope to have a dedicated cutting garden, but until then I’ll cut a few flowers here and there to enjoy inside, especially if the deer will eat them anyways.
Do you cut flowers from your garden to enjoy indoors?
