How To Create A Cutting Garden
Fresh and dried flower bouquets, what a luxury. They can be
yours all summer and into the winter, when you plant a cutting garden
of easy-to-grow annuals and everlasting flowers.
Line 'Em Up:
Use the space at the end of your garden just for row crops of cutting
flowers. A bank of cutting flowers makes for a lovely backdrop for
any garden and supplies your home with fresh cut flowers all summer
long. Some flowers are naturals for a line up. For example, Gladiolus
and Acidanthera, can be awkward flower boarder plants, but stand
at attention in a cutting boarder. If you plant bulbs every two
weeks, you will have showy bouquets all summer long.
Cutting-Edge Strategies:
To get the most blooms from your cutting garden, plant plenty of
annuals, which continue to produce flowers the more they are cut.
The best annuals for cutting are: Zinnia, sunflowers, cosmos, blue
salvia, ammobium and sweet pea. There are also different flower
garden mixes you can buy all in one. Make your cut-flower bouquets
last as long as possible by following these cutting-edge harvesting
tips:
- Cut flowers in the early morning when they are the freshest.
- Use a pair of sharp clippers to cut flowers at an angle.
- Submerge cut flowers into a bucket of water immediately after
cutting to keep them fresh. Before placing flowers in a vase, strip
off any leaves or flowers that will be underwater. Cut the stems
again and place them into a vase filled with water.
- For woody-stemmed flowers, such as lilacs, scrape off the bark
at the bottom of the stem, then gently split the stem so it can
absorb more water.
- For hollow-stemmed flowers, such as poppies, sear the end of the
stem over an open flame, then place in cold water. Change the water
daily.
Beautiful Bouquets:
Reap a harvest full of dried flowers and make bouquets or wreaths
that boast your garden's glory long after summer flowers have faded.
Easy-to grow flowers, such as statice, globe amaranth, strawflowers,
celosia and lavender are a snap to air dry, and they hold their
color for years. Here is how to cut and dry the flowers:
- Clip flowers while they are in full bloom and draped in their
best color.
- Strip off the lower leaves from the stems.
- Combine eight to 10 stems and bind together with a rubber band
or raffia.
- Hang the flower bundles upside-down in a cool, dry, dark spot
(garages are great spots).
- When stems are dry and are easily snapped in two (after one to
two weeks), place flowers in a vase or use for wreaths.
Vase Basics:
Expand your definition of vases by rummaging through your kitchen
cupboards, garage or basement to discover flower vessels as simple
and unassuming as mason jars, milk bottles or old paint cans. To
get flowers to stand up straight, use a "frog" tool to
help bolster blooms. These old-fashioned floral tools (with spikes
to hold the flowers upright) are great for displaying flowers in
low dishes or bowls.
