Deadheading Day Lilies and Daisies

August begins tomorrow, and this week I've been busy deadheading daisies and day lilies.  The rest of the garden has the look and scent of autumn as spring bloomers die back and leaves turn to brown tissue.  Even the leaves of the lilies are tissue brown at the crown on ground level as the blooms explode daily high above. The daisies have new buds down the stem 12 inches or so and the leaves look green and supple.  The dead flower heads darken and dull the "fresh as a daisy" effect of the clumps.  To face the heat and humidity of August, we want to be as cool as possible!  So, it's important to get out there and deadhead those old blooms.

The deadheaded blooms on the day lilies leave a small scar on the stems which will be covered up by the new buds one day soon.  And in a week or two with the heat of August, the whole stem will need to be cut back as the blooms cease and the season for day lilies passes.

I worked at deadheading in my garden, my two neighbors' gardens, my daughter's border, the community clubhouse and the town gazebo with a fellow garden club member. It has been cool in the evenings and early mornings.  A hint of autumn that the flowers must sense also even though we face the two hottest weeks of summer as early August approaches.  Not a time to plant or prune!

The hydrangea blooms are spotty this year. Some hydrangea bushes with little sun have not bloomed at all this summer.  My 'Endless Summer' looks fine, but it has a whole day of sun to bring on the blooms.  My neighbor's in full sun has the most gorgeous color but only one bloom.  This one bloom of hers makes my multiple blooms pale in comparison. They were pictured here on the blog earlier in the season.

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My blooms ( a dozen)

Bonnie's single bloom

My 'Limelight' hydrangea looks great and is blooming right on time as it blooms later in the season than the blue hydrangeas.

But the "Queen" of my garden right now is a Cleome that has self-seeded and grown right through the slats of my iron garden bench.  It's color is so deep compared to the others that are struggling closer to the house in the shade.  It still had a visitor (lower right) after 7 p.m. this evening.

Each plant has its time to shine!

And a gardener can sometimes help it along with some TLC like deadheading.

And other times, we just have to enjoy Mother Nature as she is.