Plant your cut flower garden in rows or beds to facilitate harvesting. To extend bloom periods, try growing annual bloomers like sweet peas, snapdragons, larkspur foxglove and delphiniums.
To maintain healthy plants throughout the season, pinch off faded flowers just above a leaf set or node to encourage more blooms and trim the plant, providing added maintenance and hydration benefits. This practice encourages more flowers as it keeps your plant in check and keeps maintenance costs to a minimum.
Choose the Right Plants
Cut flowers tend to be annual varieties, but some perennial varieties make great additions to bouquets as well. Lilacs and hydrangeas add both color and texture while herbs such as chives or lavender provide fragrant foliage for flower arrangements.
Combining flowers that bloom throughout the season in your cutting garden will guarantee an abundant supply of beautiful stems for use in bouquets. Sow seeds indoors late winter or early spring to get an early start, or plant transplants when weather warms up.
Arrange the plantings in rows or grid patterns for easier harvesting of all of your plants, grouping flowers with similar cultural requirements (sun or water needs) together, leaving enough space between each plant so as to not trample through while harvesting. Consider including some “cut-and-come again” bloomers such as zinnias with repeated blooming throughout summertime for a splash of extra colour!
Prepare the Soil
Add organic materials, such as compost or manure, and fertilize regularly to promote the health of your cutting garden. If possible, grow in raised beds as this allows more control over soil quality and fertility, harvesting and maintenance processes.
Start seeds or transplants early spring when the ground can be worked, when temperatures allow. Be sure to harden off seedlings and plants gradually prior to planting for two weeks to gradually expose them to outdoor conditions.
Set out a variety of long-stemmed perennials, annuals and bulbs in your flower garden. Many cut flowers also draw wildlife such as birds and insects to your space – be sure to include varieties that offer food and shelter for these creatures as well. It is also essential that there be a wide range of colors, heights and textures present for creating visually stimulating arrangements – don’t be afraid to mix bloom times if needed to ensure continuity within your arrangement – this can especially come in handy with cut and come again flowers such as zinnias!
Plant the Flowers
Start planning your cut flower garden early this spring or summer to get the widest selection of blooms for use in bouquets throughout the season. Or opt for perennials which return year after year but tend to have shorter bloom periods.
Plant your flowers in a sunny location with rich, well-drained soil. Raised beds offer better control over soil quality and drainage; when growing from seed, follow the planting instructions on the package closely for best results. It may also be beneficial to pin seeds or transplants to encourage branching and longer stems.
Once your plants are planted, arrange them so that taller varieties are at the back and shorter flowers nearer to the front of the garden. It may also help to group flowers based on their individual watering requirements so as to prevent accidentally overwatering or underwatering them.
Care for the Plants
An attractive cut flower garden requires consistent care in order to produce abundant bouquets of blooms. This includes sowing seeds and cultivating perennials in your garden as well as keeping cutting gardens free of weeds while pruning and deadheading regularly to promote new growth.
As a first timer, I suggest choosing simple annual cut flowers such as zinnias and sunflowers as they’re easy to care for and grow quickly. The key to successful gardening lies in reading seed catalog descriptions carefully so you can group plants by their cultural needs and ensure each receives enough water, sunlight and other essentials to thrive.
Note that certain annuals and perennials, such as cosmos, larkspur and sweet peas are considered “cut and come again” varieties that will produce new blossoms once you harvest the initial harvest – perfect for keeping your cutting garden productive throughout its lifecycle!