Home keeping I like, but housekeeping is a chore. That’s why my house isn’t spotless, but my kids get good dinners most nights.
A couple of years ago, I realized why I don’t see deadheading as a chore any longer. For those of you who don’t garden incessantly, deadheading is not only following The Grateful Dead around the country. It is pruning away those parts of the plant which have finished blooming to give the garden a neater appearance and to encourage the plant to rebloom (if it has that ability).
I find when I take a few moments every morning or evening to deadhead blooming shrubs like spirea, roses, irises and later daylilies, I begin to slow down and allot myself the space to think, and an interval opens up for me to truly “see.”
Sometimes, I plan my next blog post, and the garden tells me what to write. Other times, I take a moment to pray. The meditative quality of pruner against branch: reach, hold, snip; reach, hold, snip even looks a bit like tai chi, or if I stopped myself while in motion, yoga. My head clears, and the deafening noise of life softens.
No wire trimmers, but perhaps a lawn mower in the distance and the smell of cut grass and roses. These are my companions. I drag along a bucket in which to place the trimmings. If it’s a big job involving heavy bloom, I often set the bucket beneath the plant, and it catches the falling stems.
Reach. Hold. Snip. Drop.
Instead of garden work, consider it therapy and save yourself a dollar or two trying to calm your mind.
The garden, part lover, part therapist, awaits.
I keep forgetting to ask, but would y’all please drop by and visit my new post on the Lowe’s Garden Grow Along blog. This week, it’s about Will Rogers Park, an Oklahoma City institution. Merci beaucoup.
I feel the same why about every aspect of gardening. As well as calming my mind gardening puts me in touch with the natural cycles of the earth, much more important than our manmade sense of digital time.
.-= Melanie´s last blog ..Transplanting Tomatoes and How to Keep Them Warm in a Blizzard =-.
Oh, wonderful post, Dee! So many garden activities have that lulling, repetitive quality to them (weeding and harvesting come to mind) that brings out the creative juices and slows everything down enough so you can listen to what bubbles up to the surface. I call them “artist brain activities,” but zen, meditative, prayerful, mindful, the terms we use are only labels; right? I’m glad you’ve found one that not only suits you, but beautifies your garden, too. 🙂
.-= Meredith´s last blog ..stand by =-.
I know what you mean. I go out there with my trusty rusty bucket and the world recedes far into the distance.
Brenda
.-= Brenda Kula´s last blog ..Your Thoughts On Commercializing Blogs =-.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks of deadheading like this! My aunt & cousin looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I enjoy it!
.-= Jo´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.
Thank you for stopping by my blog and the comment. I adore that cookbook and wondered what ever happened to the Inn and the folks they talk about. Google doesn’t turn up much on Dairy Hollow House. I didn’t realize her husband had been killed. That is very sad. Happy Gardening
I definitely agree. I get so tired of cleaning up the cold cereal that gets spilled every morning, and ketchup each afternoon, and every other mess my kids make indoors. But deadheading is so restful. I go out in the evening after the kids are in bed and the quiet garden is rejuvenating.
.-= VW´s last blog ..Still Celebrating Spring =-.
My dear gardening pal,
I can’t wait to meet you in person and I truly appreciate your efforts for the bookstore event. You don’t have a second to spare and I know it!
Sending love,
Sharon
I’ve tried to describe the zen like experience that I feel when I get into the garden rhythm to a non gardener~They don’t get how calming and centering the meditative practice can be~A lovely post dee~I loved reading it and can see you clearly in your garden~Gail
.-= Gail´s last blog ..My First Real English Garden =-.
You are my new best friend! I, too, love home keeping, but house chores & spotless house have me frantic at times. On deadheading, thank you for reminding us to enjoy this process. Right now, I’m equally frantic in the garden to get it all done. It is a time for reflection, but I also tend to think, “Oh my gosh, there’s so much more to be done!” I try to remember Laurel’s Kitchen where she found peace and comfort and nurturing in washing the dishes!
.-= Linda Lehmusvirta´s last blog ..Green roofs, garden in transition, m. laurel flowers for next year =-.
Always love to deadhead. Puts me in the “garden zone” far from the world as we know it!
.-= compostinmyshoe´s last blog ..It’s the Most….. Wonderful Time…of the Year =-.
I wish I could get to that “zen” state when I have to deadhead. I’m not there yet, but I’m trying. As usual, Dee, your photos are great!
.-= Nola at Alamo North´s last blog ..Menopause, It’s No Big Deal… =-.
Well said. It is a mindless activity, i.e., one you don’t have to think about but just DO and so the mind floats free to notice or meditate on other things. I quite enjoy it and do it whenever I need to slow down.
.-= Dorothy/Plantwoman´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Mama’s "ditch lilies" =-.
I so agree. I’ve likened deadheading to a Zen exercise.
.-= Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.
Deadheading is a great stress reliever. I used to come home from work and head for the garden with nippers in hand: Off with your head. Off with YOUR head. Off with YOUR head. Eventually I was calm enough to go inside and make dinner.
.-= Nell Jean´s last blog ..Buffy’s Big Adventure =-.
It definitely gives you time to think! Gardens are an excellent exercise in meditation and thought.
.-= Dave´s last blog ..The Corner Shade Garden =-.
I feel the same way about weeding. It is more a stress reliever and a time to unwind than a chore!
.-= Stacy´s last blog ..Web Finds Wednesday! =-.
Now this is a marvelous post Dee. You have captured a lot of what I find in the garden. Even if I am not snipping and dropping spent blooms into a bucket.
So true – after a period away from the garden, it is a pleasure to come home and enjoy the quiet labor of deadheading and weeding. Spending time in the garden is such a gift!
.-= Cyndy´s last blog ..Wordless Golden Foliage =-.
I had to chuckle at this post having come in from the garden from painting ground elder leaves with roundup.
Ground elder is the bain of my life and I dig it up by the armfull but the bits around the bottom of precious plants can only be removed by painstakingly painting the leaves.
Oh how I wish I could spend more time on the joy of deadheading perhaps one day!
.-= Joanne´s last blog ..MONET’S WATER GARDEN =-.