Deadheading: Getting the Best Out of Your Flowering Plants

Whether you have a couple of plants or many, plants cost a lot of money these days.  Having gone from a very large garden to only two hanging baskets (see previous posts for more explanation), it's just as important to me that my two baskets look as good as my big garden did.  I love plants that flower and provide color-it's a simple way to add some curb appeal to your home.

(forgive the crooked cane, the cane will not go into the ground anywhere on the property, but I'm only here for two more weeks!)

One of the best ways to do this, is by deadheading.  Deadheading is the process of removing dying or dead flowers from the plant.  A plant pours energy into all of its flowers, living, dying, or dead.  By removing the unwanted flowers, you actually allow the plant to focus on the healthy flowers and buds.  Does it make a difference?  Yes-huge.  If you have a lot, your plant make look a little bare the first couple days, but the plant will thrive.  

Signs that you need to deadhead include:

• torn flowers
• brown edges around the flowers
• lifeless flowers (they look like they have collapsed)
• dead and dried flowers

I do this on a daily basis, literally; flowers die often and to get the healthiest plant, it does need to be done on a daily basis.  It's actually kind of relaxing unless the flowers you need to pick are tiny and many and then it just gets annoying!

But I promise you, just by deadheading, you'll notice a huge difference in the amount of flowers you get.

Too Cute Not to Share!

So, I love the magazine Do It Yourself, which is put by Better Homes and Gardens each season. In it, it has great pictures and some neat projects. I found this cute idea for a cheery design, and thought I'd share it with you.

If you'd like the actual photos that are showcased, go to this link, to download them!

http://www.diyideas.com/quickprojects/Accents/spring-flowers_ss1.html

So for this project all you need is a muffin tin, a can of spray paint, and pictures of flowers that are the same circle diameter as the each of the muffin cups. Spray paint your tin a lovely fresh color. Simply push your picture into the muffin cup, with a dab of glue if needed. Voila! And if you want to put this outside, simply apply a resin or you could even schlack it....