Planting cut flower gardens is an enjoyable and fulfilling hobby, but for maximum success it is crucial that you create an action plan and implement steps necessary to meet your objectives.
Plant your flowers in rows or blocks for an easy, manageable layout, incorporating annuals and perennials that require minimal care to grow.
Location
Cut flower gardens are typically composed of annual and perennial blooms designed to be harvested for bouquets and arrangements, depending on your gardening experience and space availability. You can create as simple or complex an arrangement as desired depending on these factors. If you’re new to growing flowers, start off simple with an easy-to-grow mix such as annuals that provide filler flowers such as zinnias as fillers – they make great focal flowers!
Assuring your flower garden will flourish requires selecting a location with plenty of sunlight and rich, well-draining soil. Conduct a soil test for best results; consider raised beds for easier upkeep.
An eco-friendly cut flower garden is beneficial to both birds, bees and butterflies as it attracts them for food sources, while providing shelter to insects such as toads and frogs. Plus, its dried seed heads add beautiful winter decor accents for any yard or patio!
Soil
Cut flower gardens require well-draining soil. A raised bed provides this service, or individual beds may also do just as well, with adequate drainage. Either way, the soil must be loose and rich with organic matter – add compost or leaf mold as part of the preparation before planting any seeds!
An optimal cut flower garden requires both annual and perennial blooms; such as cosmos, larkspur, sweet peas, sunflowers and others will produce blooms all summer long while others such as zinnias and celosias are better suited to late summer blooms.
Flowers that thrive in cut flower gardens include easy-to-grow annuals that do well in most climates, while hardy perennial flowers such as yarrow, garden phlox, heucheras and veronicas may add additional color and texture. Although their blooming will continue through most of the year if their climate remains mild.
Sunlight
An impressive garden can seem like magic when small seeds turn into lush plants that bloom and produce armloads of fragrant blooms, like magic! To maximize harvest potential, plant different flowers at different times so your bouquets have fresh blooms all season. Sow annuals such as sweet peas in spring before switching over to warmer-season zinnias as the cool-season annuals fade. Regular deadheading (pinching off faded blooms) should help ensure an organized and prolific garden!
Before planting your cut flower garden, take into account its size and layout. A smaller garden will be easier to manage, as less space is left open to weeds and pests to take hold. A garden that is laid out with long rows or grid systems also makes picking flowers faster.
Keep in mind that certain flowers, like dahlias and delphiniums, grow tall enough that they require support or fencing for proper growth. When planting these varieties in your garden, plant them at the back so they are easy to pick later.
Water
Water quality is just as essential to flower care as soil. Hard, alkaline or salty waters can damage flowers by decreasing how much water they can absorb and speeding their wilting rate.
Water for cut flower gardens should be changed at least twice each day and more frequently if temperatures or conditions become excessively hot or dry. Furthermore, dead leaves or stems must be removed immediately in order to keep pests, disease, and fungus at bay.
To reduce watering needs in your garden, plant an array of long-stemmed annual and perennial varieties with various colors, heights, textures and heights. Include perennials that rebloom after cutting (such as yarrows, larkspur, garden phlox and dahlias). Raised beds allow greater control over soil quality compared to planting annuals on their own – for optimal results plan your flower beds on paper first before beginning planting!