I think it makes a big difference. In cutting off the flowers after they bloomed you stop the plants going to seeds. You don't want to grow bulbs by seeds.... trust me :) The energy will go through the leaves back into the bulb and not into the seed pod. This will give you a much stronger bulb for next year and your chances of having nice flowers again are almost 100%. Unless you are dealing with frost, too much water, a drainage problem o.e.

If you use the term: 'cutting gardens', you will find hundreds of useful websites, many of them with extensive lists of the types of annuals and perennials that are suitable for a cutting garden.

Kimbra, I usually cut the dead (old wood) sticks around June 1. If I haven't seen any growth from them by then, I figure I probably won't. As far as cutting flowers to enjoy, early in the season you can cut a longer stem, but by mid-July I usually cut smaller stems (1st or 2nd leaf set, depending on H. type) to make sure I'm not cutting off next years bloom. Pruning, I can't help you with. I've never been brave enough to tackle it so I plant all of my H. where they can grow to their hearts content. My hydrangeas are my pride and joy too. All 34 of them!? Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning Hydrangeas

Hi Hawaii, I'm actually from South Jersey, now living in North Jersey. Florida was basically a three-year detour. :) I did grow a couple of plumerias down there -- one was always sickly and died, the other I gave away before we moved. I figured it would never do well up here. The palm tree is suffering as it is. You probably would like Florida, because it did feel somewhat similar to Hawaii -- we honeymooned on Kauai and loved it! But personally and professionally, FL wasn't working out for us. As far as I know, the bride-to-be mainly likes sunflowers. I was figuring on one or two of those per vase, then filling it out with whatever other flowers were handy. Any supermarkets/stores better than others? I was planning on checking out Trader Joe's tomorrow.