Gardening tips for July: Dead-head
Dead-heading is a job to be done in the cool of the evening with a methodical approach


Like edging a lawn, dead-heading is one of those tasks regarded by some as a complete form of social death. In both instances, they are wrong. This is a job for a quiet time, in the cool of the evening, involving no great effort or discomfort. It does, however, require careful observation and a methodical approach. With roses, remove the dead flower and sufficient shoot back to the next outward-facing bud. With many herbaceous perennials, reach further down with your secateurs, following the flowered shoot into the interior. Fresh greenery and, in some instances, another flush of flowers will follow.
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Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
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