Cut flower gardens add beauty and support wildlife habitat in one. Flowers like zinnias, poppies, and sunflowers provide pollen and nectar for butterflies, bees, and other insects, while seed heads provide shelter to birds and other forms of wildlife during the winter season.
Cutting flower gardens require sunny locations with rich, well-draining soil. Before planting, test the soil before making adjustments such as adding compost or manure to improve it.
Perennials
Establishing perennial cutting gardens offers an opportunity to enjoy beautiful blooms throughout the season, but success depends on selecting varieties that perform well under your conditions and working within a defined space. Start by sketching out a plot plan on paper with desired colors, bloom times and heights as well as notes about sunlight or shade coverage of each area in which your cutting garden resides.
Consider creating your cut flower garden using raised beds – they give you complete control of soil quality for optimal plant growth.
Harvest perennial flowers by cutting the stem just above where it meets the base of each bloom, then deadheading throughout the growing season to keep plants looking their best and producing consistent blooms. When harvested correctly, perennials can last for months in a vase – especially those which attract pollinators such as sunflowers or dahlias.
Annuals
If you’re searching for easy-to-grow flowers with long bloom periods, sunflowers could be just what you’re after. Boasting many different colors and height, sunflowers add great visual interest in arrangements while making any garden spectacular in fall.
Consider color, size and texture when selecting annuals as fillers in bouquets with variety. Planted tall and short varieties together can create captivating arrangements, including some fragrant blooms as fillers or vertical accents in arrangements.
Some annuals need to be pinched when young to encourage branching and longer stems; this is commonly done with zinnias and celosia. Many plants need to be trimmed back to just leaves or nodes in order to promote more flowering; one-and-done annual flowers need not be one and done; by sowing seeds several days or weeks apart you can extend bloom time significantly, while early planting in winter gives an early start on spring.
Varieties
Cosmos, zinnias and sunflowers are annual cut flowers that produce multiple blooms after being cut; cool-season seeds sown during the winter can extend bloom time for one-and-done flowers like larkspur and sweet peas that only produce blooms once cut.
An assortment of perennial and annual flowers can provide blooms throughout the season. Perennials will return each year while annuals provide more opportunities to experiment with colors and heights.
To maintain continuous flower production, regularly deadhead spent blossoms by cutting above their first set of healthy leaves. To maintain fresh flowers as much as possible, add either an acidic or alkaline solution to the water used for cutting roses, tulips, daffodils or sweet peas; they tend to prefer either acidic or alkaline solutions respectively. Doing this will reduce bacteria that cause your flowers to quickly wilt in a vase setting.
Techniques
Techniques commonly employed for cultivating other garden plants also apply when planting a cut flower garden, including creating an efficient layout which maximizes space while giving each plant its best chance at survival.
Choose a sunny location that gets full sunlight throughout the day and provides access to water sources. Also ensure the soil is healthy by amending with compost or other organic matter as necessary.
As a beginner gardener, start off with easy-to-grow annuals like zinnias and sunflowers; many grow in rows or blocks for an ordered and tidy appearance while other varieties such as sweet peas and climbing nasturtiums may require support in the form of netting or trellises for support.
Before planting tender seedlings outdoors, be sure to harden them off for two weeks in an effort to familiarize them with outdoor conditions. Also read each variety’s description carefully since their growing requirements vary significantly – for instance some need pinching as they grow so as to encourage branching and long stems.