Grow your own bouquets

Cutting Garden Basics

The idea of chopping off your garden flower blooms might make you shiver but if you grow the right types of flowers you can cut and re-grow beautiful bouquets all summer long.

Think of a cutting garden as a flower farm designed for production and harvest, much like a vegetable garden. Unlike conventional bedding plant borders, a cutting garden’s primary job is to produce a bounty of cut blooms. The best part is that you do not need to dedicate a large space to your personal flower farm.

Most flowering plants love sun, so locate your cutting garden in a spot that receives at least six hours per day of full sun. Additionally, flowers that are good for cutting often have long stems so you will want to grow them in an area that is protected from strong winds. Raised beds are a popular choice for cutting gardens. Create a narrow, rectangular space that is easy to tend and harvest – 3 feet wide is perfect. Planting long stem flowers close together will keep your cutting garden compact if space is a premium. If you don’t have space for a dedicated cutting garden, not to worry, you can tuck your favourite flowers wherever you can find space – amongst your veggies or even a patio container.

A wide array of annuals, perennials & bulbs can be used in a cutting garden. Plants with strong stems make the best cut flowers. If you are new to flower gardening you may want to stick with some easy varieties like sunflower and zinnia to get you started. A few examples of commonly grown cutting flowers are:

Tips:
Harvest during the coolest part of the day with a clean sharp pruner
Don’t let the stems dry out – submerge the stems in cool clean water as you cut them
Strip away lower foliage that will be below the water line. Underwater leaves will breed bacteria
Refresh vase water every few days & keep blooms out of direct sunlight