Seedheads

The Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf said that "A plant is only worth growing if it looks good when it is dead" and I agree with him. Many of the plants that I grow have this characteristic as their seedheads are as beautiful as, or in some cases more than the  flowers that formed them.

Leaving the seedheads on the flowers has other benefits beside the aesthetic. Many seedheads attract wildlife, in the autumn my teasels are visited by flocks of Goldfinches.

The other advantages are plants such as poppies and foxgloves will self sow producing plants for next year. Although I do collect and keep seed I am a firm believer that nature knows best, if a plant sets seed and then releases it that to me is when that seed should be sown not the following spring. A lot of seed germinates better if allowed to stratify in the cold soil over winter.

The final benefit is you don't need to spend  hours deadheading, just one big clear up in the spring.