I'm sure I've gotten to that point with this plant once it pretty much stops blooming or starts to look untidy. Mine is almost to that point, because it sprawls. I seem to remember it took awhile to start blooming again. I'll have to try it again and make note of how long it takes. I don't have any other plants I'm deadheading right now, and it's mindless so I don't mind doing it. My Siberian Blues, the dead pods pop right off, so it's pretty easy. I will cut it back soon and let you know how it does. Thanks. So, no one knows if you have to pull every dead flower to keep the plant blooming?

I also have an addiction. I won't name them all (because I'd have to go look) but counting in my head, I have 23 different kinds. What bothers me is that they take over. I'm dumping Northern Sea Oats right now because although I absolutely love it, I can't stand the stupid reseeding it does. One of my favorites is Pony Tail Grass. It's medium in size, very blow-y in the wind and never flops. Blue fescues are great, too. I like switch grasses because again, they don't flop. I gave away Miscanthus varigatus and Indian Steel because although gorgeous in color, one strong wind and they smush out everything underneath and beside them. I love Black Moudry because of it's low, large clumps. And ... so on! :) Yes, addicting. Christine

Consistly WSown in the last 3 years: Poppies - cause I love them Heuruchera - cause they WS easily and the plants are so expensive delph - cause I just keep trying. They rarely bloom or if they do they don't make it to a second/third season Silene - cause it is easy, lasts almost all season and looks great Joe Pye - cause I just keep adding more around the back edges Different Lychnis - cause they do well here and I've received generous trades A really low (4"?), spreading sedum (no name)-cause it helps along paths to keep the weeds off the edge

I am referred to as "the tick magnet" in my household. It is not uncommon for me to walk across the lawn, spend 10 minutes in the veggie garden, and come in with a tick. I've gotten so I can spot a wood tick sitting on the top of a plant, waving its little legs and waiting to grab hold. I'm going to repeat what I said in the post from last fall that Claire linked. I live on an old farm with a mix of field, brushy growing-up field, and woods. I use bug dope with DEET, though I put it only on my clothing and I don't always use it. I own several pairs of the pyrethrin impregnated socks and I tuck my pant legs into them. (Along with my bug net during black fly season I usually look pretty dorky when I am out in the garden.) I don't really worry about ticks because during the height of the season I might find 6 or 8 on me over the course of a day, but I do take them seriously. Instead of worrying, I do a complete visual and touch check whenever I come into the house in the spring and fall. Clothes get stripped off and examined along with my body. I again do a complete visual and fingertip check at bedtime every night (until it gets too cold for the ticks to be active) standing nekkid in front of a mirror so that I can see places like under my arms and the middle of my back, etc. in case I missed any the first time around. I also comb my hair with a comb having close-set teeth and do a careful touch examination of my entire scalp. Clothing I take off doesn't go into the bedroom. I view that nightly 15 minutes as the dues I pay for being able to get out beyond the lawn areas at my house. When we first moved here I used to freak out about getting a tick, but there are so many (mostly wood ticks, though there are some deer ticks) that I just don't have the energy to get worked up about them. I'd rather put the energy in to doing careful checks afterwards since it takes a day or more for a tick to get seated and spread disease. I do this check religiously, every single night, even if I have not worked in the garden. It's part of my bedtime routine, like brushing my teeth. It is my understanding (and fits in with my observations here) that rodents are a large part of the cause of the "deer" (more accurately referred to as "black-legged") tick problem, so the tick tubes, which target the application of permethrin specifically to rodents, make good sense. I haven't used them, however, and studies vary in their evaluation of effectiveness. Last season was the first we had appreciable numbers of black-legged ticks, so we are just starting serious consideration of management for them. I haven't previously seen reference to nematodes as good for controlling ticks, so I did some reading. It seems like around here they aren't too effective since nematodes live in the soil, and when are ticks are in or on the ground, it's too cold for the nematodes to be effective. They are also more effective on adults that the nymphs that often spread disease. However, I did come across a fungus that it supposed to be better in this part of the country, Metarhizium anisopliae, that has met with EPA approval for tick control. Unfortunately, it appears to still be in the product development stages. As others have mentioned, keeping areas with brush or long grass mowed will help reduce shelter areas for ticks, and reducing areas like stone walls where rodents hide will help as well.