Deadheading:  it's a real thing, and VERY important for some plants, especially annuals.  

 

Your annuals' main goal in life is to make seeds.  And your plants spend most of their energy blooming and then turning those flowers into seeds.   

 

So, even though you have collected enough seeds for next year's garden, it is still important to get the dead flowers off the plants.  Because after all, once we have enough seeds for next year, what we really want is the profusion of pretty flowers.  

 

My favorite flowers this time of year are the marigolds.  Every time I go out to admire the garden, I bend over and pick off as many dead flowers as I can see.  

 

My picture today is what happens shortly after I pick off the dead flowers.  See all the new buds?  In a couple days, they will explode into gorgeous marigolds.  

 

Deadheading seems like a never-ending garden chore, but it is worth it, to get more and more flowers.  

 

BTW:  I have buckets full of deadheads, AKA:  seeds for next  year.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!