Grow Your Own Bouquet: Cut Flowering Gardens

Few pleasures in life are as simple as surrounding yourself with flowers, both indoors and out. Great satisfaction comes when your vases are overflowing with homegrown blossoms. Some gardeners love cut flowers so much that they plant a separate “cutting garden” where they can snip to their heart’s content instead of raiding their other annual and perennial borders. 

 

Every flower arrangement you create will be unique depending on what’s in season in your garden at that time. The best part about having a cut flower garden is that you can have fresh flowers in your home from early spring into fall and you can say with pride, “I grew these”. Planting your own cut flower garden is easy! With a little preparation, you can enjoy the beauty and fragrance of cut flowers all summer long.

 

 

Cut flower gardens serve the sole purpose of growing flowers for bouquets. Start by choosing a site with well-drained soil, plenty of sun and easy access to water. Prepare the soil by clearing the garden area of grass and weeds. Work organic matter, such as compost, into the soil. Design the garden for easy care and cutting. Arrange the plants in straight rows or 3 foot wide garden beds. Make paths wide enough for you to walk and work comfortably.

 

 

Lots of different kinds of flowering plants are suitable for a cutting garden. Long-stemmed annuals or perennials are most useful. Typically, colorful annual flowers dominate these gardens, because they are such enthusiastic bloomers. Cutting their blossoms only encourages them to produce more. All kinds of daisies are enormously popular and combine well with lots of other flowers.

 

Long blooming perennials have a place in the cutting garden as well as in more formal flower borders. Plants such as coral bells and fringed bleeding heart will produce flowers all season, especially if they are regularly picked. Some, such as purple cone flowers and black eyed susans produce bold, bristly seedheads that are ideal for floral crafts. Don’t forget foliage plants that contribute texture and color to both fresh and dried arrangements. Silver-leafed artemisia varieties, lamb’s ears and herbs such as lavender contribute grayish-silver foliage that is both handsome and aromatic.

 

The following is a list of our favorite annuals and perennials for a Cut Flower Garden. This list is just the beginning. There are certainly several cut flowers available depending on your taste and style.