Plant your cut flower garden in wide rows for easy harvesting. Some plants, like tall zinnias and sunflowers, may need staking or support; others, like climbing nasturtiums and sweet peas require netting.
Include plants with fragrant or pleasing aromas, and consider including flowers that dry well for winter arrangements to extend blooming periods and add depth and interest to bouquets. This will extend blooming periods and keep bouquets colorful all year round.
Choose a Soil
Starting your cut flower garden off right requires starting with premium soil that is both weed-free and rich in organic matter. To improve drainage and water retention, work in several inches of compost or leaf mold before planting your seeds. Raised beds are also beneficial, making harvesting and maintenance much simpler for both harvesting and maintaining plants.
Assuring your flowers receive enough light is also key when planting annuals or perennials; depending on their species, many blooming varieties need 6-8 hours of full sun every day in order to produce blooms and remain healthy. Furthermore, you should situate yourself near an accessible water source as they will need regular irrigation; vining annuals such as sweet peas and climbing nasturtiums require support with either netting or trellises; pinching can encourage branching and more blooms from zinnias snapdragons and marigolds among others.
Choose a Location
A cut flower garden is a special spot in your backyard where flowers specifically grown for cutting can be grown. This space can either stand-alone or become part of an existing vegetable garden; most cutting flowers require ample sun. When choosing your location for such a garden, keep this in mind.
Decide the heights and bloom times of your desired plants before selecting an arrangement that allows for easy watering, weeding and harvesting. If growing both annuals and perennials together, group the perennials together so as to save time in planting each spring.
Plan ahead as some flowers may require staking or support in order to stay upright, while others needing deadheading can become tedious over time, but is essential in maintaining sufficient blooms for arrangements. Consider including low maintenance fillers such as caladiums and euphorbia into your design to add variety while saving yourself the hassle.
Plant the Seeds
If you have the space, dedicate an area of your garden specifically for growing cut flowers. Otherwise, incorporate cutting flowers into existing flowerbeds and borders so as not to deplete existing areas of bloom and allow you to harvest quicker when required.
Before planting your seeds, determine the cultural requirements for each type of flower you plan to grow. Group plants according to their needs – for instance dahlias and delphiniums require staking while sweet peas can benefit from being tied onto supports – making care simpler and ensuring they receive enough water and nutrients.
Fill your bouquets with vivid hues, heights and textures by planting both perennial flowers and annual flowers in your cutting garden. Include fragrant varieties as well as those with unique foliage for optimal results – keep soil damp but not wet – and remember to regularly fertilize using an all-purpose fertilizer!
Plant the Flowers
To create the ultimate bouquets, combine perennials and annuals–either from seed or starts–into your garden. Perennials such as hydrangeas and lilacs provide perennial color and hardy or half-hardy annuals such as sweet peas and cosmos provide long-lasting cuts of flowers for arrangements; filler flowers such as baby’s breath and coral bells add texture and color.
If space permits, dedicate an individual flower bed solely for growing cutting flowers. This allows for easier harvesting access and prevents depleting existing garden beds or containers of harvestable plants. If this option isn’t possible, intersperse cutting flowers among perennials and edibles in beds where their addition won’t detract from overall garden design.
As perennials and annuals bloom at various times throughout the season, plan your flower garden according to each individual plant’s height and bloom timetable in order to maintain a lush appearance throughout its bloom period. Doing this will keep it looking its best all season long!