Attracting both large bouquets of sunflowers and individual hellebore blooms for use in bud vases, having your own cut flower garden can pay big dividends. Just a bit of planning can help create an abundance of blooms.
Step one is to select a site which receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight each day, followed by soil preparation.
Prepare the Soil
Grown at home, growing flowers allows you to know exactly what is entering the soil – an invaluable knowledge since most commercially produced cut flowers are exposed to pesticides before being shipped out for your climate using various holding solutions and preservatives.
Before beginning to sow seeds in your garden beds, incorporate several inches of organic matter into the existing soil to improve water retention and encourage healthy root development. This will also ensure better water-retention capacity during water shortages.
Consider cultivating your cut flower gardens in raised beds to make weeding, watering and pruning much simpler for yourself. This will save time in maintaining them over time!
Before planting seedlings, it’s essential that you select an area that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. Most cut flower varieties prefer full sun; therefore it is important to take this into consideration when selecting your location. Please also keep in mind that some flowers may require shade when temperatures heat up.
Plant the Seeds
Planting your cut flower garden can be just as easy and enjoyable as any other vegetable or herb garden, with just a few key points that will make this project all the more rewarding and pleasurable.
Many flowers used in bouquets thrive best when exposed to ample sun, so ensure the plants receive at least six to eight hours of daily illumination. It may be helpful to group similar-growing conditions together – such as cool-season plants and those resistant to summer heat.
Be sure to provide your plants with adequate water, using either a soil irrigator or soaker hose that delivers water directly to their roots. This reduces risk of fungal diseases due to wet leaves while encouraging healthy root development. If growing vining annuals like sweet peas or climbing nasturtiums, consider providing them with a trellis so they can climb.
Water the Plants
Growing a cut flower garden is both rewarding and captivating. Witnessing its transformation from an insignificant seed into a plant producing armfuls of vibrant blossoms is truly astounding.
Starting flowers from seeds should ideally occur several weeks prior to your last frost date for optimal growth and speedy development, though planting directly into the ground once there is no threat of frost is also viable.
Once plants are planted in the ground it’s important to provide ample irrigation – particularly during hot and dry weather. Drip irrigation systems can deliver water directly to roots, reducing evaporation and the risk of fungal disease. Deadheading flowers regularly is also vital – either manually removing spent blooms from plants with sharp scissors, or cutting away spent flowers manually with sharp scissors.
Harvest the Flowers
Cut flower gardening can be a truly magical experience. Starting seeds and watching them unfold before your very eyes is like watching alchemy unfold before your very eyes! Watching each bloom develop and mature is like witnessing something from another realm – something beyond logic at times!
Once your plants are planted, read carefully through the back of each seed packet to ascertain each one’s growing requirements and ensure you provide everything needed to support its success. Consider raising garden beds so you have more control over soil quality and depth of watering if growing flowers is your preference.
Zinnias and celosias make ideal choices for creating an easy cutting garden, producing an abundance of blossoms all season. Pinch your plants at approximately one month old to encourage branching and longer stems – either manually or using clean shears, pinching below their first set of leaves.