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The Plant Deflopper 4000X is on the way to save the day

September 20, 2020

Longtime readers will know that that we have a pretty clear delineation of yard duties around here. I manage the garden and Mr. Much More Patient handles the lawn. So it’s rare when he weighs in on garden-related matters. 

But the other day he very carefully suggested that floppy plants were becoming an issue in his part of the yard. This suggestion was followed by several further side mentions in the middle of otherwise unrelated conversations.

Me: “What should we have for dinner?”

Mr. MMP: “How about not floppy plants?”

Perhaps this suggestion is borne from his idea for a lawn mower attachment that would lift up plants that have flopped over as it goes by. It’s still in the conceptual stage, but imagine an oarlike lever attached to a riding mower that would scoop up plants laying over the lawn and hold them up while the mower slides under them. 

We can’t quite figure out how the mechanics would work after the initial lifting-up phase, however, and I keep envisioning the disaster that could ensue when a mower fitted with such an attachment went downhill, spearing the lawn ahead and causing the mower to pitchpole, sending its rider flying through the air, and depositing him on my favorite dahlias.

'Wild Magic' basil plants flopping over patio

By this time of the year the mounds of purple ‘Wild Magic’ basil are taking up quite a bit of space on the actual patio

Mr. Much More Patient has suggested that it might be easier to de-flop the offending plants while design phase of this invention continues. I’ll admit, he has a point. At this time of year both the garden and the gardener are tired. What’s the point of staking something that is destined for the compost pile in a matter of weeks? Even the plants are a bit tired. The ‘Wild Magic’ basil, which I grow strictly for its gorgeous purple foliage and matching flowers, has been gradually relaxing, to the point where the patio seems to be about two-thirds of its normal size.

Meanwhile, self-sown Nicotiana plants on the edges of a flagstone and gravel path to the garage are hovering at a gravity-defying 45-degree angle, making stepping over them slightly easier than walking around them. 

Nicotiana plants bending over stone garden path

I appreciate some floppage in the garden. It loosens everything up and wards off any propensity towards formality, or at least balances out the more formal aspects of the garden. I like it when plants mingle with one another, creating a web of color and texture.

But even I have a limit to how much flopping I can handle. The next time I find myself caught around the ankles by an errant Nicotiana, I’m going to rip it out on the spot (they are mostly bloomed out by now anyway). And, in the spirit of garden harmony, I’ll even trim back the plants that have draped themselves over the lawn.

That should do until the prototype of the Plant Deflopper 4000X is available.

basil lawn mower nicotiana plant deflopper
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
10 Comments

About Erin @ The Impatient Gardener

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Comments

  1. Terry A. says: September 20, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    I was hoping you were going to say there actually was such a thing! LOL

    Reply
  2. Maureen S. Donahue says: September 20, 2020 at 1:09 pm

    Weed eater.

    Reply
  3. Lisa at Greenbow says: September 20, 2020 at 2:29 pm

    Good thought but, as you say, it is time for a good ripping out.

    Reply
  4. Kylee Baumle says: September 20, 2020 at 4:43 pm

    Erin, you’re the best. I sure hope we can see each other sometime next year. Garden Bloggers Fling in Madison, perhaps?

    Reply
  5. Abby Muller says: September 21, 2020 at 1:28 pm

    I will be happy to beta test the first prototype!

    Reply
  6. Jill says: September 21, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    I too love some softening of the edges with plants flopping over but there are paths I can’t even walk on right now. So while I wait for your invention to get past the design phase I better get my clippers out and get after it! Thanks for sharing your garden adventures with us.

    Reply
  7. Linda Brazill says: September 22, 2020 at 12:21 pm

    Snce no one is going to see my garden, I have been very lazy about floppers. And am now cutting back or pulling out what and when I feel like doing it. But that purple basil is to die for. You have to post about it when it is time to order seeds. I might actually do that.

    Reply
  8. Cassie Felty says: September 26, 2020 at 2:00 pm

    I love reading your posts. Thank you for taking the time.

    Reply
  9. Jullia says: October 7, 2020 at 8:43 am

    Thank you so much Love your blog.

    Reply
  10. Carina M Paredes says: October 7, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    My cosmos and some zinnias are flopping everywhere but at this point I don’t really care and I’m ignoring them lol.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Pen These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Penhill Watermelon (first picture) and Penhill Dark Monarch are the best two HUGE dahlias that I grow. They share slightly twisty petals (Watermelon more so) and, when you look closely, subtle striations that add a beautiful depth of color. Watermelon grows taller than Dark Monarch (7 feet tall or more sometimes) and they both need serious staking, but it’s worth it because they produce a lot of flowers for a large-flowering dahlia. 

I like them both but if I was forced to choose (and who would make me do that?) I’d give the edge to Dark Monarch because it’s a little easier to manage size-wise, produces more flowers and has a bigger variation in flower color so it’s always interesting. 

Which do you like better?
I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But w I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But when there’s only one tool that does that one thing really well, I’m here for it. This pottery/container knife from Sneeboer makes it possible to actually get plants out of pots without breaking or damaging the pot. It’s also really expensive. 😀
A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zi A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zinnias, pycnanthemum muticum and bronze fennel shown here.
My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love tryi My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love trying out new varieties and I feel like they just work so well in my garden from both a design standpoint and a cultural standpoint (they are happy here). Because I grow so many, the ones that self sow can be surprises. 

All of these self-sown Nicotiana are probably at least partly the children of the F1 hybrid Perfume series, which grow to be about 24” tall or so. Last year I grew purple, pink, white and lime versions and these are likely new variations on those. 

Picture 3 is, in my opinion, a good example of how these self sown second-year hybrids can go wrong. I’ll probably rip that one out. 😀

And the last photo is of my favorite colorway, lime, popping up amongst the Zinnias. I find these self-sown Nicotiana popping up all summer, so there’s always a fresh-blooming supply. 

Are you as enamored with Nicotinana as I am?
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