Answering a Comment

So many people don't click on the comments, so when I have one that I think may be of interest to others, I am going to answer it here. I will just copy the relevant sentence of two, like this one from Dianne today:

"I would love to know how you keep your flowers so lush. I did see where you said you watered them daily. Do you pinch them back a lot or give them plant food too? "

First of all, thank you, Dianne, for the compliment. Yes, I do give them plant food. I use water soluble Miracle Grow (the blue powder stuff). I feed them every week. Because containers need watering so frequently, many of the nutrients are washed out with the excess water (yes, mine are watered EVERY DAY, and on very hot days, twice a day. Thankfully, we don't get many hot (over 90 degrees) days here.)

Pinching them depends on the flower. Most of mine do not need it. If I plant petunias, I will pinch them back whenever they get leggy. Actually it is more of major hair cut. I take scissors and just whack off about six inches or so.

I do deadhead daily also. When I get home from work each afternoon I grab a pair of scissors (and sometimes a glass of wine) and walk the deck looking for dead flowers. That is the real secret, I think. Deadheading is so very important. If you allow them to go to seed, they use up a lot of energy, and will not bloom as profusely. And no container looks good with a bunch of dead blooms hanging all over it.

If one considers gardening "work", my deck and gardens take a lot of it! Fortunately it is my passion, so I always find the time and energy to get it done. I must admit, though, it is getting more exhausting as I get older.

By the way, Dianne, I am planting a lot of red and purple this year, too. Actually, red, purple, orange and yellow. Now there's some HOT colors! I used to always do pinks and purples, but a few years ago I tried the hot colors and I really liked them. Such fun to combine colors one would normally call a "clash".