Today I was all ready to tell you about how to care for your daffodils after they're done blooming. I was going to share Martha Stewart's braiding method that I've been using for a couple years that helps keep your garden looking nice while the daffodil foliage fades away. Or maybe the bend and tie method, sometimes made easier by just using rubberbands ...

I'm a little behind at home with my own daffs; I haven't taken the time to braid them yet so I don't have any current photos. So I went to the Internet to look for some usable photos to accompany this blog entry.

While searching "daffodil braided foliage," I came across a bunch of warnings about this technique. (So, Martha doesn't know everything afterall ...)

According to Barbara Martin's garden tips on flowergardens.suite101.com, "You may hear or read suggestions for braiding the daffodil leaves or bundling them up with rubber bands and who knows what else, but it doesn't help the bulbs at all to do this and it is a lot of extra work for the gardener, too ... give yourself -- and your daffodils -- a break: Leave the leaves alone!"

"Daffodil foliage needs the sun to make and store energy this year for next year's flower. That concept is alien and hard to accept by some. However, if one follows the daffodil bulb growth, a dissected bulb clearly shows next year's flowers developed in this year's bulbs. It is for that reason that the theory of letting the folliage die backnaturally is so strongly defended," writes Clay Higgins on the same web site.

Easier said than done. I know, I know, who wants to look at those long green leaves now when it's time for all those pretty, colorful annuals? Well, I'm going to give it a shot this year, since it was an especially good year for my daffs! I want to do everything I can to ensure a good showing for next year, even though I had to move my double daffodils to make room for those dwarf rhodies I showed the other day.

Suggestions for "living with" the faded daffs include: Hiding the foliage with taller perennials and planting colorful annuals in front to take the eye away from all that green. At least it will save me some time not having to braid all that foliage this year.