While I sit here still looking out at a sea of green, blooms are late this year, I found myself thinking about how much I enjoy the evenings in the garden. I'm a "live header" picking the days blooms at the end of the day once the shade has covered the garden and I have it all to myself. Days during bloom season start very early in the morning with a first run around to see what's open complete with photos and notebook. Then it's on to seedlings, tagging, photos, recording, who stays who goes... Hybridizing next as the pollen dries, with more observations throughout the day as the temps warm changing the blooms, for good or bad. Visitors, sales, a few weeds...along with the everyday chores of having animals and a home.
Evenings are my time with the blooms... to relax and enjoy each one as I pick it off with my fingers and put it in the bucket. I'm always a bit sad after to see what I did, the wheelbarrow loads of blooms dumped on the compost pile and the garden bare, except for those pollinated...but come morning the garden is refreshed with new blooms in an ever changing piece of living art.
I do "dead head" occasionally, when the day is just to long or hot, picking the mushy, slimy blooms off as fast as I can the next morning just to get it done. And the hybridized blooms, well I just "let them be".
So I guess even though I actually do all three...nothing beats "live heading" in the cool evening when it is just me and the garden.
